Committee to source best candidates for council






The Whitsunday Ratepayers Association (WRA) has sworn five of its most knowledgeable members to work select and endorse the most suited candidates for the council election.

The chairman of the newly formed group known as the Election Advisory Committee (EAC) is Andrew Marshall and his fellow advisors are David Brooks, Sue Dickinson, Russell Cook and Ross Plowman.

Secretary Tony Moscato said the committee has been set up by the nearly 700 members of the WRA to obtain information about candidates for the council elections, the first time this has ever been done.

"This information will be published to its members for them to choose their endorsed candidates," Mr Moscato said.

Mr Marshall said the region needed integrity, transparency and competency in council. "We need to heal the image of the council and restore confidence in its decision making", he said.

"Voters need to think carefully about the candidates to ensure that they don’t allow a group of councillors to suppress other councillors and waste our money for the benefit of a few greedy people", Mr Marshall warned.

Mr Moscato said that the membership of the WRA was growing strongly and its endorsement of candidates would be a significant indicator of public support.

"Voters need to be WRA members to get the revealing facts or look out for candidates endorsed by the WRA," said Mr Moscato, adding, the WRA intended to have a councillor appointed to liaise with the group so that the community had a voice in council and a watchful eye on their proceedings.



Greens candidate calls for Whitsunday debate

Glossy brochures and million dollar campaigns don’t tell the real story about a person.

In a bid to give voters in the Whitsundays a candid opportunity to meet the three Js vying for the seat of Whitsunday - Jan, Jason and Jonathon (in alphabetical order) - the Greens candidate Jonathon Dykyj is challenging his two opponents to a debate once the election is called.

Mr Dykyj says there’s a lot of misinformation about the Greens, and the two major political parties, and feels a debate is the most democratic style of exposure.

“It’s grass roots democracy. It's free and accessible and doesn’t depend on glossy brochures and multimillion dollar campaigns. People can come along to one of two debates held once the election is called and hear the promises from the horses' mouths,” he said.

Late Monday evening, the 28-year-old Greens candidate wrote to the local member Jan Jarratt and the LNP candidate Jason Costigan calling for in-principle support.

“These types of forums in the Whitsundays are quite popular so I imagine we will get quite a crowd. There are no dates set yet but I would hope that once the election is called we can set a date down for the first week then the third week, but we’ll organise that between the three of us. Obviously things will change if there are more candidates,” he said.

Member for Whitsunday Jan Jarratt has thrown her support behind the idea.

“I’ve always enjoyed participating in local debates in the past and believe they’re a valuable forum," Ms Jarratt said.

“We’ve already seen Campbell Newman go head to head with Premier Bligh, revealing the LNP has no policies, no plans and no intention of explaining to the people of Queensland how they will turn their rhetoric into reality.”

“I’d be very interested to see the LNP Candidate for Whitsunday stand in front of this community and outline which infrastructure projects his party would axe.”

LNP candidate Jason Costigan said he welcomed the debate.

 “I have no problem in debating anyone, whether it’s Labor’s Jan Jarratt, the Greens candidate or Humpty Dumpty.

“If we can make it happen, within our schedules and involving all players, great. I think debate, especially as we lead into an election, is very healthy. It’s democracy at work.”

“Having said that, the Greens are nothing but a sideshow.

“Everyone knows they’re in bed with Labor in Canberra, giving us the mess we’ve got there. A vote for the minor parties is just a wasted vote. At the end of the day, if you want to remove the Labor Government, you’ve got to vote LNP.”