2024 Mackay Regional Council election: Where to vote, candidates

Here is the ultimate guide for where you can vote, the full list of candidates in Mackay and what could happen if you fail to vote. FREE READ

There are 32 candidates in the running for mayoral and councillor positions in the Mackay Regional Council 2024 election.

Here is the ultimate guide for where you can vote, what could happen if you fail to vote, and your go-to-guide on who is running for council.

Election Day

Polling booths will open at 8am on Saturday, March 16 and remain open until 6pm in the evening.

32 polling booths will open across the Mackay region and all will have some form of wheelchair accessibility.

Be sure to check with the Australian Electoral Commission that your postal address is up to date and that you are eligible to vote in this local election.

It is compulsory to enrol in council, state and federal government elections if you are an Australian citizen or eligible British subject; aged 18 years or over; or have lived at your address for at least one month.

What happens if you do not vote

The Electoral Commission of Queensland perform thorough checks to ensure that everyone has voted, if you have not, you will receive a failure to vote notice.

This notice will provide you with an opportunity to say if you did or didn’t vote, or why you didn’t vote.

Depending on your circumstance, you may be provided with an apparent failure to vote notice, which will likely lead to an infringement notice, which is the fine for not voting.

If the fine is not paid, you may be referred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) for further action and additional charges may apply.

The Ballot

Voters will list their preference for mayor and council candidates on two separate ballots.

In the mayoral race, voters will list their preference from one to three and in the council race list their preferences from 29 candidates.

Read about every person running to either become a mayor or a councillor here.

Running in the election are two teams, one being Team Greg Williamson headed by the incumbent mayor Greg Williamson called, which is made up of two incumbent councillors from his former team The Williamson Alliance, and other candidates.

The other team, lead by former rugby star Steve Jackson, is Jacko’s Team – Mackay First, which features former member for Dawson George Christensen, as well as unsuccessful candidates for Dawson from Bob Katter’s Australia Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Standing as an independent candidate for mayor, with the vocal support of several incumbent independent councillors, is Laurence Bonaventura.

Full list of polling booth locations

The Mayoral Ballot

• Greg Williamson (Team Greg Williamson)
• Steve Jackson (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Laurence Bonaventura (Independent)

The Council Ballot

• Ash-lee Johnson (Team Greg Williamson)
• Neil Wallace (Team Greg Williamson)
• Nathenea MacRae (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Michelle Green (Team Greg Williamson)
• Namarca Corowa (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Fran Mann (Independent)
• Peter Sheedy (Independent)
• Belinda Hassan (Independent)
• Pauline Townsend (Independent)
• Keith Hicks (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Kylee Stanton (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Peter Freeleagus (Team Greg Williamson)
• George Christensen (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Lindsay Temple (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Alison Jones (Independent)
• Kimberly Doyle (Independent)
• Jeffrey Keioskie (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Stephen Cutting (Team Greg Williamson)
• Joshua Thornton (Team Greg Williamson)
• Russell Seymour (Independent)
• Heath Paton (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Martin Bella (Independent)
• Les Scott (Independent)
• Karen May (Team Greg Williamson)
• Ian Rowan (Independent)
• Ian Christensen (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Justin Englert (Independent)
• Melissa Fowler (Jacko’s Team – Mackay First)
• Greg Fisher (Independent)

Originally published as 2024 Mackay Regional Council election: Where to vote, candidates