Quirky local Chris ‘Pineapple’ Hooper becomes Rockhampton mayor after Margaret Strelow resigns
Chris ‘Pineapple’ Hooper, by virtue of finishing runner-up in this year’s council election, is set to become Rockhampton’s new Mayor after Margaret Strelow’s shock resignation.
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Quirky Chris ‘Pineapple’ Hooper will be the new Mayor of Rockhampton after Margaret Strelow made the shock announcement she is resigning from the post after being found guilty of misconduct in what an LNP senator called a “travesty”
The runner-up in this year’s election appears set to take the office almost immediately as leader by default.
It comes after changes to state legislation were revealed in June, stating a mayor or councillor would be replaced by the next highest polling candidate if they were to die or resign in the first 12 months of their term.
A by-election would be held the middle part of the term, (13 to 36 months) and council would appoint the replacement if it was in the last part of the term (37 months to 48 months).
The changes were to be effective from October 12, 2020.
Mrs Strelow has said she had been found guilty of misconduct, to which she strongly objects, in a lengthy statement posted to social media last night.
The misconduct was in relation to a trip to a remote Adani solar farm in India in 2017, with Mrs Strelow has previously told The Courier-Mail the flight was on an Adani-owned plane as no flights went to thee regional location.
She said she had put this on the council register, as required.
Queensland LNP Senator Matthew Canavan has voiced his frustration over how Ms Strelow’s resignation was handled, calling it a “travesty”.
“Margaret did not deserve to bow out as Mayor this way,” he said on social media.
“It is a travesty that the leadership of Rockhampton can be determined by those in power in Brisbane.”
Mr Hooper said he had been in bed asleep prior to learning the news, saying he was both shocked and “buggered” but confirmed he would accept the position if it was offered.
“I don’t really know what’s going on here as far as it goes. I don’t mind the idea of it. Rockhampton’s got to be cleaned up, there’s been rumours going around for a while,” he said.
“There’s people in Rockhampton that aren’t represented at all. Right now, it’s all about developers and the big guys.”
His first port of action would be to implement a board to oversee the region’s councillors – similar to what Byron Bay Council uses.
“I’d be quite happy to do it. I was saying I’d get a board of people in, like in Byron Bay council. They do that now to administer the councillors and all that stuff,” he said.
“It’s not up to me, you need to bring people, a board with ideas on how to run it equally for everyone.”
Both climate change and unemployment rates would also receive immediate attention.
“Climate change has to be brought into it; we need to do stuff in Rocky,” he said.
Mr Hooper now expects tomorrow to be a far busier day than what he initially had planned.
“I’ve just been sitting back, and thought if something happens, it happens. Looks like it’s happened.”
In her statement, Mrs Strelow, who was re-elected eight months ago, said resigning was not a step she took lightly.
“After months of silence the Councillor Conduct Tribunal has decided that I am guilty of misconduct,” she wrote.
“I absolutely refute their finding. I acted at all times in accordance with my own conscience and on the advice of senior legal practitioners as well as on the advice of officers from the Department of Local Government.”
Mrs Strelow previously said she had become the subject of a councillor conduct investigation after the matter was referred to the government body by the State Government’s Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA).
She said “as a matter of honour given the misconduct finding”, she had tendered her resignation to the CEO yesterday afternoon.
“I wish to apologise to my community who may now have a Mayor who was not of your choosing,” she wrote.
She said she felt she was leaving the community “in better shape – financially and in outlook than when I returned to office in 2012”.
Mr Canavan also took aim at former Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, calling it a “massive double standard” that she wasn’t forced to resign but Ms Strelow was over “a solar farm.”
“These investigations have stemmed from a vindictive Labor Party,” he said.
“This all stems from a visit to a solar farm.
“Jackie Trad kept her job as Treasurer after failing to declare a house!”
Originally published as Quirky local Chris ‘Pineapple’ Hooper becomes Rockhampton mayor after Margaret Strelow resigns