Rosanna Natoli declared Sunshine Coast Council mayor in 2024 election

Journalist of 30 years Rosanna Natoli has been declared Sunshine Coast Council mayor after a two-week wait, and has vowed she will not sit in an “ivory tower” away from residents.

Rosanna Natoli has been declared Sunshine Coast mayor after a nearly two-week wait on results.

After a near two-week wait, Rosanna Natoli has been declared the Sunshine Coast mayor and is promising she will not sit in an “ivory tower” away from residents.

Mrs Natoli announced the decision on her Instagram page after the Queensland Electoral Commission closed postal voting earlier this week and preferences were allocated in the Sunshine Coast Council election.

She garnered more than 27 per cent of the vote (56,822) with Ashley Robinson in second place on more than 24 per cent (50,521 votes).

Mrs Natoli, a journalist on the Sunshine Coast for about 30 years, said it was finally official and she promised the region would experience a different style of leadership.

“This really is an exciting time, I pledge to really make a difference to this community and you will see a new style of leadership and a new council,” she said.

New Sunshine Coast Council mayor Rosanna Natoli.

“It really is exciting Sunshine Coast because this is going to be new, and it’s going to be different and it’s going to be about the people of the Sunshine Coast.

“I look forward to working for you.”

Rosanna Natoli with her team at the Buderim Wanderers Football Club on the March 16 election night.

Former councillor Jason O’Pray was given more than 21 per cent of the votes (44,335).

Fellow woman candidate Min Swan gathered more than 16 per cent (33,882 votes) with Wayne Parcell on more than six per cent (13,309 votes) and Michael Burgess on just shy of four per cent (8,065 votes).

Mrs Natoli’s husband, Joe Natoli, has also returned to his Division 4 seat with a resounding 51 per cent, or more than 9500 votes.

Mrs Natoli said it was “such a relief” to finally have a result for the Sunshine Coast.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli with her husband, Division 4 Councillor Joe Natoli and her children, from left, Roman, Ruby and Mia.

“It was a really great field of candidates and that’s reflected in the spread of votes because you can see that people were looking for change and looking for a different style of leadership,” she said.

The new mayor promised she would not sit in an “ivory tower” away from residents and would continue to conduct town hall-style meetings.

She also said she was aware the population growth on the Sunshine Coast meant the council would face complex issues of the managing the environment, infrastructure and more almost straight away.

“We’ve got big issues to deal with very quickly, it’s not like we’re going to be sitting around for a year,” Mrs Natoli said.

Originally published as Rosanna Natoli declared Sunshine Coast Council mayor in 2024 election