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Subscriber only In past weeks, residents of Rockhampton might have noticed signs by the road and online advertisements for mayoral candidates.
Early voting commenced on Monday, and electors may wonder what gifts each candidate has received and how much money has been spent on campaigns so far. As recorded on the Electoral Commission of Queensland s public disclosures, Russell Claus received money from several individuals, including W. Ford, C. Ford, Capricorn Survey Group director and surveyor Richard Ford, and CSG Bank of Queensland account , all of whom gave $499 each. Richard Ford s application states that his clients conduct business with local government in the form of development applications .
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Early voting for Rockhampton’s next mayor began on Monday morning at the James Lawrence Pavilion of the Rockhampton Showgrounds and at the Gracemere Community Centre.
The candidates greeting electors and handing out flyers said queues stretched down the street when the showgrounds pavilion opened at 9am.
By 1pm, two or three were entering every minute, having passed by John Rewald, Nyree Johnson, Rob Crow, friends of Tony Williams, Cherie Rutherford, Donna Kirkland, and Shane Latcham.
“It’s been hot-cold from lunch,” Cr Kirkland said.
But on Monday morning there was a big line.
“We came down about 7.30.”
Record Rockhampton mayoral contenders state their plans for the region ahead of by-election
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Rockhampton has had an acting mayor since November.
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Rockhampton voters will be spoilt for choice when they go to a by-election on Saturday, January 23 with a record 17 candidates vying for the city s top job.
Key points:
Seventeen candidates are vying for the role of Rockhampton Mayor, a record for most mayoral candidates in a Queensland local government election
Voters will head to the polls on January 23
The State Government amended the Local Government Act which triggered the by-election
The Councillor Conduct Tribunal found Cr Strelow had engaged in misconduct when she failed to update her Register of Interests to include a hospitality benefit received from Adani during an official trip to India in 2017.
Chris Hooper.
Chris Hooper attended the draw wearing a pineapple-themed shirt and said in a statement he was âdefinitely the underdogâ and that he would finance his own campaign rather than accept money from âself-serving peopleâ.
âThe Palaszczuk Government has spent millions of dollars of tax payer money to prevent me from being mayor,â he said.
âI am really pleased that a lot of people have suddenly showed a lot of interest in running for council: this could best be described as âThe Pineapple Effectâ.
âIt would be even better if the new candidates spent some time and effort in developing some policies first other than claiming to be an honest, community-minded, hard worker.â
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RECOGNISING the Rockhampton regionâs struggle to address the problem of homelessness, mayoral candidate John Rewald has suggested a way forward.
The Morning Bulletin has previously explored the issue with AnglicareCQ chief executive Carol Godwin saying her organisation had supported or provided crisis housing for almost 560 CQ people in the first eight months of 2019, with an estimated 165 people across CQ who were sleeping rough. AnglicareCQ CEO Carol Godwin said having a place to call home was a basic human right that many across CQ, both young and old, lived without.
Since the economic crisis created by the pandemic, the local homeless problem has worsened.