2024 Cairns Regional Council election
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Mayor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All 10 members on the Regional Council (including the mayor) 6 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2024 Cairns Regional Council election was held on 16 March 2024 to elect a mayor and nine councillors to the Cairns Region. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland, Australia.[1]
The Cairns Unity Team, which had held a majority on council since 2012, was defeated. Incumbent mayor Terry James was defeated by first-term councillor Amy Eden, who became the second woman to hold the role, after Val Schier.[2][3]
Background
At the 2020 election, Unity won a third consecutive election with six councillors elected. Incumbent mayor Bob Manning was re-elected with 81.25% of the vote after preferences.[4][5]
Division 9 councillor Brett Olds, who was elected as Independent LNP, resigned from the Liberal National Party in September 2021 in opposition to the federal Morrison government's COVID-19 vaccination restrictions.[6][7]
On 6 December 2022, Manning announced his intention not to seek re-election at the end of his third term.[8] Deputy mayor Terry James confirmed his intention to run and lead Unity.[9]
In July 2023, Division 5 councillor Amy Eden defected from Unity to form Team Eden, announcing her decision to contest the mayoralty.[10]
Bob Manning announced his resignation, effective immediately, on 17 November 2023. Terry James was appointed as his replacement until the 2024 election, while Jeremy Neal (also a Unity member) was appointed to replace James in Division 4.[11][12]
Campaign
During the campaign, James expressed support for the law and order policies of Katter's Australian Party, although stated that Cairns Unity "do[es]n't endorse any party" at a state level.[13]
Team Eden stated their priorities were creating a "renewed" Cairns with a "commitment to transparency, accountability, and engagement".[14] In February 2024, During the campaign, Eden was accused of plagiarising a Facebook post from Toowoomba councillor Rebecca Vonhoff.[15] She later admitted to using passages of Vonhoff's post, and apologised.[16]
In November 2023, ABC News reported that Division 4 candidate Shane Cuthbert, a former criminal and member of the unregistered Democratic Party of Queensland, had appeared in multiple online videos with a Nazi flag in 2019.[17][18] Cuthbert stated that it was "not a good look" and he had filmed the videos in a "shop that sold a bunch of old, cool stuff," and thought "the background of the store and the colours and things like that [looked cool]".[19]
Candidates
A total of 39 candidates ran for election. Incumbents are shown in bold text.
| Ward | Held by | Cairns Unity | Team Eden | Community First | Independents | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Cairns Unity | Terry James | Amy Eden | Denis Walls | Warren Binda John Kel Leah Potter Paul Taylor |
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| Division 1 | Cairns Unity | Brett Moller | ||||
| Division 2 | Ind. Socialist Alliance | Nikki Giumelli | Kesa Strieby | Patricia Courtenay | John Schilling | Steve Lippingwell (Ind. ALP) Matthew Tickner (Ind. LNP) |
| Division 3 | Independent | Heidi Healy | Marisa Seden | Cathy Zeiger | ||
| Division 4 | Cairns Unity | Jeremy Neal | Trevor Tim | Cate Mahoney | Shane Cuthbert (Ind. Dem) | |
| Division 5 | Team Eden | Nathan Lee Long | Emma Gelling | James Coll Birgit Ariane Machnitzke |
Rob Pyne (Ind. SA) | |
| Division 6 | Cairns Unity | Kristy Vallely | Shane Trimby | Nicole Sleeman | Alan Benn | |
| Division 7 | Cairns Unity | Matthew Calanna | Ian Moller-Nielsen | Renee Lees | Anna Middleton | |
| Division 8 | Cairns Unity | Rhonda Coghlan | Jo Piggott | Phillip Musumeci | Hannah Boon (Ind. LNP) | |
| Division 9 | Independent | Carine Visschers | Brett Olds |
Cairns Unity
Cairns Unity announced its candidates on 1 September 2023.[20] Division 7 councillor Max O'Halloran chose not to seek re-election.[21]
Team Eden
Team Eden announced candidates for six out of nine wards, with Emma Gelling contesting in Division 5, held by Amy Eden.[22]
Restaurateur Sam Byrd was Team Eden's candidate for Division 7 until August 2023, when he withdrew citing conflict with commitments in his private life.[23]
Community First
Community First was formed in November 2023 by members of the Greens and Socialist Alliance. The group stated they supported measures to end "conflicts of interest and dodgy deals" on council.[24]
The group was led by mayoral candidate Denis Wall, a Greens member and former university teacher.[25]
Others
Paul Taylor, a former Queensland deputy police commissioner who resigned after referring to his friend as a "vagina whisperer" at a policing conference in 2022, contested the mayoralty as an independent candidate.[26]
Division 2 councillor Rob Pyne, who joined Socialist Alliance following the 2020 election, initially planned to retire but later chose to contest Division 5.[27]
Results
Mayor
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Eden | Amy Eden | 25,782 | 30.70 | +30.70 | |
| Cairns Unity | Terry James | 20,187 | 24.04 | −42.93 | |
| Independent | Paul Taylor | 19,532 | 23.26 | +23.26 | |
| Community First | Denis Walls | 10,745 | 12.79 | +12.79 | |
| Independent | John Kel | 3,854 | 4.59 | +4.59 | |
| Independent | Leah Potter | 2,747 | 3.27 | +3.27 | |
| Independent | Warren Binda | 1,139 | 1.36 | +1.36 | |
| Turnout | 88,650 | 75.39 | +4.83 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Team Eden | Amy Eden | 30,364 | 56.64 | +56.64 | |
| Cairns Unity | Terry James | 23,242 | 43.36 | −37.89 | |
| Team Eden gain from Cairns Unity | Swing | N/A | |||
Councillors
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | 3 |  2
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| Independent | 3 |  1
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| Team Eden | 1 | 
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| Independent LNP | 1 | 1
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| Independent Socialist Alliance | 1 |
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| Community First | 0 |
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| Independent Labor | 0 |
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| Independent Democratic | 0 |
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Division 1
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | Brett Moller | unopposed | |||
| Cairns Unity hold | Swing | ||||
Division 2
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent LNP | Matthew Tickner | 3,137 | 32.44 | ||
| Independent | John Schilling | 1,702 | 17.60 | ||
| Cairns Unity | Nikki Giumelli | 1,541 | 15.94 | ||
| Independent Labor | Steve Lippingwell | 1,530 | 15.82 | ||
| Team Eden | Kesa Strieby | 1,160 | 12.00 | ||
| Community First | Patricia Courtenay | 600 | 6.20 | ||
| Turnout | 10,212 | 73.48 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent LNP gain from Ind. Socialist Alliance | Swing | ||||
- Incumbent councillor Rob Pyne (Ind. Socialist, later Ind. Socialist Alliance) contested Division 5
Division 3
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Cathy Zeiger | 6,467 | 70.04 | ||
| Cairns Unity | Heidi Healy | 1,604 | 17.37 | ||
| Community First | Marisa Seden | 1,162 | 12.59 | ||
| Turnout | 9,593 | 74.80 | |||
| Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Division 4
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | Jeremy Neal | 2,750 | 32.28 | ||
| Team Eden | Trevor Tim | 2,591 | 30.41 | ||
| Independent | Cate Mahoney | 586 | 19.73 | ||
| Independent Democratic | Shane Cuthbert | 545 | 18.35 | ||
| Turnout | 8,949 | 74.18 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Team Eden gain from Cairns Unity | Swing | ||||
Division 5
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ind. Socialist Alliance | Rob Pyne | 2,296 | 30.01 | ||
| Team Eden | Emma Gelling | 1,882 | 24.59 | ||
| Cairns Unity | Nathan Lee Long | 1,851 | 24.19 | ||
| Independent | Birgit Ariane Machnitzke | 948 | 12.39 | ||
| Independent | James Coll | 675 | 8.82 | ||
| Turnout | 8,097 | 63.93 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Ind. Socialist Alliance gain from Team Eden | Swing | ||||
- Incumbent councillor Amy Eden (Independent, later Team Eden) ran for mayor and therefore did not recontest
Division 6
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | Kristy Vallely | 3,984 | 39.52 | ||
| Team Eden | Shane Trimby | 2,609 | 25.88 | ||
| Community First | Nicole Sleeman | 1,981 | 19.65 | ||
| Independent | Alan Benn | 1,506 | 14.94 | ||
| Turnout | 10,465 | 82.25 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Cairns Unity hold | Swing | ||||
Division 7
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Anna Middleton | 2,554 | 29.08 | ||
| Cairns Unity | Matthew Calanna | 2,395 | 27.27 | ||
| Community First | Renee Lees | 2,130 | 24.25 | ||
| Team Eden | Ian Moller-Nielsen | 1,703 | 19.39 | ||
| Turnout | 9,273 | 73.82 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent gain from Cairns Unity | Swing | ||||
Division 8
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Unity | Rhonda Coghlan | 3,155 | 33.95 | ||
| Team Eden | Jo Piggott | 2,532 | 27.25 | ||
| Community First | Phillip Musumeci | 1,965 | 21.95 | ||
| Independent LNP | Hannah Boon | 1,640 | 17.65 | ||
| Turnout | 9,942 | 71.13 | |||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Cairns Unity hold | Swing | ||||
Division 9
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Brett Olds | 8,029 | 76.80 | ||
| Community First | Carine Visschers | 2,425 | 23.20 | ||
| Turnout | 10,822 | 79.45 | |||
| Independent hold | Swing | ||||
- Incumbent councillor Brett Olds was elected as Independent LNP but left the LNP in September 2021
References
- ^ "2024 local government elections". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Queensland local government election results show several incumbent mayors face 'kicking' from voters". ABC News. 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Cairns Regional Mayor". Electoral Commission of Queensland. July 2019.
- ^ "2020 Local Government Elections". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Cairns election: Coronavirus work cannot wait for Mayor Bob Manning". Cairns Post. 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Vocal councillor quits LNP over Covid to be anti-vax 'poster boy'". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Cairns MP challenges councillor over vaccination status". ABC News. 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Cairns Mayor Bob Manning will not run in 2024, but questions remain over whether he will go the distance". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Council elections less than eleven months away as prospective candidates continue low profiles". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Who is Cairns' likely mayor Amy Eden?". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Mayor resigns on medical advice". Cairns Local News.
- ^ "Cairns Unity Team's Jeremy Neal appointed as Division 4 councillor". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Cairns Regional Council group backs Katters' radical crime idea". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Our Priorities". Team Eden. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Queensland could have 24 new mayors including the 'weather girl' who played a witch". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "Cairns mayoral candidate Amy Eden accused of plagiarising Toowoomba councillor's social media post". Cairns Post.
- ^ "'I do a lot of good': Former criminal Shane Cuthbert runs for Cairns council". A Current Affair.
- ^ "6 News: Are they a member of a party? (2024 Queensland local elections)". 6 News Australia. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Cairns council candidate Shane Cuthbert appears in videos with Nazi flag, admits it's 'not a good look'". ABC News.
- ^ "Unity 2024 announces election candidates". Cairns Local News.
- ^ "Departing Cairns councillor Max O'Halloran defends young staffer after 'bullying' incident". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Former Member for Cairns Rob Pyne faces tough fight to claim Division Five". The Chronicle.
- ^ "Mayoral candidate Amy Eden loses team member and Division 7 council candidate Sam Byrd". Cairns Post.
- ^ "Community First to contest developers in Cairns Council". Green Left. 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Community first for team". Cairns Local News. 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Former police deputy commissioner known for 'vagina whisperer' comment running for Cairns mayor". Guardian Australia. 25 January 2024.
- ^ "Councillor Rob Pyne makes U-turn on decision to retire, announces a 2024 run for Division 5". Cairns Post.