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FULL RECAP: Candidates clash at heated election debate

Mayor Mark Jamieson said people could judge him on his record, and said he'd been "staggered" by the lack of focus on the environment thus far. WATCH THE REPLAY

FULL CANDIDATE PROFILES HERE

UPDATE 8.30PM:

CANDIDATES have had their final say.

Mayor Mark Jamieson closed by spruiking his council's environmental record.

Don Innes said cash stocks were valuable, especially in the face of the coronavirus epidemic.

Michael Burgess said the debt level would increase dramatically in the first six months of the new council.

"They speak of borrowing like it's free money but you guys have to repay it," he said.

Chris Thompson said his "proven track record" in local government made him an ideal candidate and he was "unashamedly" running on a lifestyle platform.

John Connolly said he hadn't stopped working and would continue to do so if elected for another four years.

Todd Forrest said he was keen to work with the community and make sure all eight suburbs of Division 4 were listened to.

"The community needs to get benefits," he said.

Mayoral candidate Chris Thompson speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming
Mayoral candidate Chris Thompson speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming

Julian Porter said he wanted to focus on amenity.

"I'm not saying you need a whole council of lawyers, but it wouldn't be bad to have one or two," he said.

Mark Wadeson vowed to be someone who would represent people, not the company.

Joe Natoli warned there was a traffic "tsunami" coming and the rate and pace of development in the region was concerning people.

"This community here at the moment is under siege," he said.

"We need to make changes."

UPDATE 8.05PM:

POLITICAL party affiliations have been revealed tonight, in front of a passionate Maroochy RSL crowd.

Joe Natoli declared his past involvement with the Nationals Party.

Mark Wadeson has never been affiliated with a political party and wasn't now.

AIRPORT DEBATE TAKES OFF

Division 4 candidate Todd Forrest speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming
Division 4 candidate Todd Forrest speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming

Julian Porter said he was a Greens member about 13 years ago, drawn by their human rights policies, but left when he realised they were just another political party.

Todd Forrest was not affiliated and never had been with political parties.

John Connolly said he had been a former LNP candidate for the state seat of Nicklin, but had not been a member since that tilt.

Chris Thompson was in the LNP in 2016 and had sought pre-selection for the Federal seat of Fisher, but had held no affiliations in his 12 years in council.

Michael Burgess declared he was "too old for partying".

Don Innes said he was not and never had been affiliated with a political party, and nor had current Mayor Mark Jamieson, who said the independence had come in handy negotiating with both sides of politics.

UPDATE 7.25PM:

HOT-button topics of paid parking and development are being thrashed out now.

Cr John Connolly said it was vital parking infrastructure was put in place without leaving legacies of debt.

Mayoral candidate Michael Burgess declared the money spent on paid parking would be better spent in small businesses.

The issue of code-assessable developments has also come up.

Mayoral candidate Chris Thompson said he supported a review of the codes in the planning scheme, particularly in relation to carparking requirements in new developments.

Michael Burgess was well received when he declared he didn't feel the "spirit of what the community wanted" was being reflected in planning documents.

Don Innes felt part of the problem was the outsourcing of certifications, and the whole notion of the issue was that no one in proximity to these developments had a say.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said code-assessment provided security to everybody and it put a value on a property.

Mayoral candidates Mark Jamieson, Don Innes, Michael Burgess and Chris Thompson at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming
Mayoral candidates Mark Jamieson, Don Innes, Michael Burgess and Chris Thompson at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming

He said the time to have a say was when planning schemes were being put together, as the scheme gave certainty to the community.

Division 4 candidate Todd Forrest said current parking allocations were "poor" and council needed to demand better from developers.

He said it was on council to put pressure on developers to deliver better outcomes for the region and its communities.

Julian Porter said council could improve its codes, and the regional plan had to be better at reflecting what the community wanted.

Joe Natoli questioned why so much certainty was given to developers and not the community, and he said any project three storeys and above should be impact-assessable "regardless".

Division 4 candidate Joe Natoli speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming
Division 4 candidate Joe Natoli speaks at a Sunshine Coast Daily election forum in Maroochydore. Picture: Stuart Cumming

UPDATE 7.10PM:

DIVISION 4 hopefuls have put their pitches forward.

Incumbent John Connolly said it not all about roads, rates and rubbish, and it was all about having a plan for the next four years.

Former Maroochy Shire Mayor Joe Natoli said residents didn't want their lifestyles "traded away" at any cost.

He said the light rail project was "light years away" and was clapped when he declared council simply had to listen to its community.

Mr Natoli said council had to stop playing dealmaker and developer, and leave that to private industry.

Julian Porter said in his time on the hustings he'd understood a near-uniform reason for why people chose to live here.

He said it was all about lifestyle, and he felt council had to get back to basics.

Long-time local Todd Forrest said residents wanted change, and felt this council ignored the community and didn't engage them in "a lot of big decisions".

"There is no more important voice than that of the residents," he said.

Former homeless man Mark Wadeson came out swinging, declaring council liked "degrading" people, especially the poor.

He said council should be implementing human rights practices in its policies, and called on people to vote for someone who represented the people and concentrated on the services they're meant to provide.

UPDATE 6.55PM:

MAYORAL challengers have had their say, with former Deputy Mayor Chris Thompson said most people he'd spoken to had told him their lifestyles were being "crushed by development" without adequate infrastructure.

Mr Thompson said he also wanted to boost Nambour's economy and the need to be a value-based organisation.

He vowed to slash secret meetings and reduce confidential sessions.

Michael Burgess claimed underdog status early, and told the crowd unemployment had actually risen, despite Cr Jamieson's claims.

Don Innes vowed to "keep the bastards honest" and said retail vacancies were one of the biggest issues facing the region.

CROWD: Punters have piled into Maroochy RSL for the Division 4 election forum. Picture: Scott Sawyer
CROWD: Punters have piled into Maroochy RSL for the Division 4 election forum. Picture: Scott Sawyer

AND WE'RE OFF:

A STRONG crowd has filed into Maroochy RSL tonight, eager to hear from their Division 4 and Sunshine Coast mayoral candidates tonight.

Incumbent Mayor Mark Jamieson is currently addressing the crowd, spruiking the halving of unemployment and 25 per cent increase in household incomes under his reign.

Faith Hambrecht had been unable to join us for the Division 4 forum due to illness.

EARLIER:

FOUR mayoral candidates and those hoping to win the highly-contested Division 4 seat will answer the tough questions at tonight's Sunshine Coast Council candidate debate.

The Sunshine Coast Daily will host the community forum at Maroochy RSL from 6.30pm, where members of the public and relevant community and business groups have submitted questions for the candidates.

Each mayoral and Division 4 candidate will be given the opportunity to introduce themselves and address their views on key issues for the region, and Daily editor Nadja Fleet will facilitate the pre-submitted questions.

The Daily will also livestream the event on this website for anyone who cannot attend.

The Sunshine Coast mayoral candidates include:

The Division 4 candidates include:

You can submit any last-minute questions by clicking this link.   Voters head to the polls on Saturday, March 28, with early voting opening on Monday, March 16.

Originally published as FULL RECAP: Candidates clash at heated election debate

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/queensland/sunshine-coast/watch-live-sunshine-coast-mayoral-division-4-debate/news-story/4ed658dfc8e851f115466f3602fdd330