Elections for the Redlands Mayor and ten divisional councillors will be held on 28 March 2020 but early voting at polling centres in Cleveland, Victoria Point and Capalaba starts on Monday 16 March.
As an alternative to early voting or voting at a polling booth on Election Day you can request a postal vote on-line, but only until 7:00pm on Monday 16 March 2020.
Redlands2030 has prepared a summary of the three mayoral candidates’ policies, promises, ideas (and in one case) things done and not done. It’s presented below, in the order that candidates’ names appear on the ballot paper: Claire Richardson, David Curtin and Karen Williams.
Claire Richardson for Redlands mayor
Claire Richardson says that as Mayor, she would offer the community a fresh leadership approach to create a dynamic ‘Vision for Redlands’ and do much better to look after what we value.
Claire Richardson’s policies on her campaign website include:
Better planning and development:
- Review the City Plan as a Priority
- Improve Planning Clarity and Reduce Costly Legal Appeals
- Introduce Local Area Plans to Preserve Character
Reducing Traffic Congestion:
- Getting our Fair Share of State Road Funding
- Innovative Ways to Reduce Traffic
- Encourage Local Jobs
- Make Better Planning Decisions
Koala Conservation
- City Plan Review
- Koala Tourism Action Plan
- Redlands Koala and Wildlife Hospital
Managing the City Better
- Value for Money
- Financial Management (including a close look at the Redland Investment Corporation)
- Genuine Community Engagement
- Ethical and Transparent
Toondah Harbour
- Revert to Earlier (2008) Toondah Harbour Scheme (with area declared marine industry)
Saving Cleveland CBD
- Council must take the leading role
- Start with genuine community consultation with residents, businesses and the commercial sector
- Develop a shared view of the future Cleveland – and then a realistic plan, budget and timetable to make it happen
David Curtin for Redlands mayor
David Curtin says he is running for mayor with a platform based on integrity, transparency and community consultation in a campaign “underpinned by a #VisionNotDivision attitude”.
Shown below are David Curtin’s policies, commitments and ideas as expressed on his campaign Facebook page
- Send out a community survey within 100 days of being elected to get resident and ratepayer feedback on how THEY want Council to operate, and what projects to deliver or support
- He says he’s opposed to the Toondah Project and the current proposals for destruction of Ramsar wetlands, but says it’s the State Government that is responsible for making decisions about the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area
- Prioritise a review of the City Plan
- Deliver annual bulky waste kerbside collection
- Give the full rates discount to all concession card holders including people who only receive a part pension
- Ensure that the Council adopts a Disability Access and Inclusion Plan
- Make upgrading the Cleveland Aquatic Centre a priority project
- Seal, kerb and channel roads on the southern Moreton bay islands and bus shelters for island communities
- Improve transport solutions for island communities (no details) and ensuring adequate evacuation access
- Deliver a cost neutral aqua water park using Moreton Bay
- Promote tourism by illuminating the Cleveland Lighthouse with colourful LED lights
- Support the establishment of a Redland Innovation Hub
- Develop a strategy to protect koalas including a local tourist based centre where sick and injured koalas can be treated and rehabilitated
- Restore Willard’s Farm
- Restore funding to the Donald Simpson Centre
- Introduce Questions from residents at Redland City Council meetings
- More CCTV surveillance in Redlands to deter crime and anti-social behaviour
- Relax dog laws to allow more access by dogs on leash at Wellington Point Beach Reserve
Karen Williams for re-election as mayor of Redland City
Karen Williams has been Mayor of Redland City for nearly eight years. She says she’s been sowing the seeds for exciting initiatives and projects that are set to bear fruit in the coming years
The Karen Williams campaign website identifies a number of her “achievements”. We’ve listed them below, with clarification as appropriate:
- Delivered free tips (waste transfer sites)
- Delivered a program to recycle plastics into local roads (a small section of Princess Street in Cleveland has been done as a trial)
- Redland City Council recently purchased part of the Birkdale Commonwealth lands at a cost of $4 million
- Secured Queensland’s first on-road driverless bus trial (on Karagarra Island)
- The Council has planted more than 330,000 native plants and trees since 2016
- Charity events promoted by the Mayor (supported by the Council) raised $300,000 to support victims of domestic and family violence
- Redland City Council bought a potential sports and recreation site (Heinemann Road in Mt Cotton) at a cost of $7 million
- Connected the Southern Moreton Bay Islands to Translink (part funded by a levy on SMBI property owners) during her first term
- Redland City Council contributed $30,000 in 2015 to research into a Chlamydia vaccine for koalas
- Mayor Williams has advocated for Redlands to have an Olympic standard rescue and white water rafting facility, if south east Queensland hosts the 2032 Olympic Games
- Mayor Williams has participated with other south east Queensland mayors in negotiating a City Deal for south east Queensland which might possibly one day result in additional funding for transport infrastructure of benefit to Redlands
- Secured a new Housing and Homelessness Network
Some things not mentioned on her website include:
- Redland City adopted a new planning scheme in 2018 which enables developers to pack apartments onto what once were housing blocks.
- Under her leadership the Council did a deal with Walker Group and the State Government which could result in 3,600 apartments being built on wetlands in Moreton Bay between the Grand View Hotel and the Toondah ferry terminals
- Council (and the State Labor government) approved the massive Shoreline housing development in southern Redlands, an area notable for its biting insects and poor transport infrastructure during her first term as Mayor
- Mayor Williams strongly promoted Council’s decision to allow the Chefs Inc Food market. It went bust soon after opening leaving many small businesses and suppliers out of pocket
- Mayor Williams advocated in 2015 for a $70 million project to incorporate a surf life saving centre of excellence into refurbishment of the aging Cleveland Acquatic Centre. The project was abandoned in 2019 because its funding strategy was based on large government grants which never materialised
- Karen Williams failed to keep a number of ‘pledges‘ made during her 2016 election campaign including:
- Fix congestion on Cleveland-Redland Bay Road
- Implement a free city circle mini bus
- Seal all dirt roads and build more boat ramps
The vision and commitments parts of Karen Williams’ campaign website are light on detail. A short video includes images and buzzwords suggesting that if re-elected, Karen Williams would deliver:
- More parks recreation and sportsfields
- Innovative and active transport with better connections to SEQ region
- New industry based on new technology e.g. green hydrogen
- Redland City’s ‘naturally wonderful’ environment and a koala friendly city
In recent days the Redland City Bulletin has published stories (illustrated with artists impressions) suggesting that keeping Karen Williams as Mayor might result in a water park in the proposed Shoreline housing estate, a vibrant redevelopment of Capalaba and a new state of the art ageing centre to be developed at an undisclosed location through a private public partnership.
Karen Williams says she wants the Council to examine the feasibility of building a new jetty somewhere in Redlands, perhaps at Cleveland Point.
You choose the next Redlands Mayor
Local governments in Queensland have four year terms so whoever is elected as Redlands Mayor will be there until March 2024.
More information about the three mayoral candidates and 28 candidates for the ten divisional councillor positions is available on the RedlandsVotes website.
Redlands2030 – 15 March 2020
We don’t think that this post is election material, but if it is, it’s authorised by Steve MacDonald of 104 Channel Street, Cleveland 4163
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
4 Comments
The election is the time to make tough decisions, the people you vote for are there for 4 years, so much damage and poor decisions can be done in 4 years, only have to look at the past 8 years of Mayor Williams leadership to see what has happened, do you want another 4 years of development at all costs, developers getting massive relaxations, more and more bushland being cleared by developers, lack of accountability, meetings behind closed doors excluding the community. and on and on it goes
I have heard that Cr Mitchell and Mayor Williams are saying that Toondah cant be changed as the Councillors have signed a confidential agreement with Walker Corporation. In all my years as a Councillor never did we sign any confidential agreements with developers. I cant believe that the Mayor allowed this to be done and I question the Council solicitor and CEO of the day to allow this to happen. The details have been closed off to the public but I cant believe that any Mayor or Councillor signed a confidential agreement that may cost millions of dollars of compensation to the developers paid for by the ratepayers. Who in their right mind would leave ratepayers in such a vulnerable position. Who would sign such a controversial and questionable agreement without getting legal opinion from their own solicitor as I have little confidence that Councils solicitor gave neither staff or elected members the implications of signing this agreement. The area this developer wants to build 3600 units on is fill into the Marine park, property owned by all Australians, so why is this being covered up.
None of them is talking about ensuring the resilience of Redlands’ water supply! Do they think the recent rains have replenished the depleted aquifer on North Stradbroke Island/Minjerribah that supplies 60 per cent of the City’s daily water? Do they even give it a second thought that water will always run from their taps?
People, please pay attention to the looming crisis of the exhausted aquifer and the need to draw on other available water sources. Now. Future-proof Redlands’ water supply. This should be front-and-centre policy.
Very good point, Jackie Cooper. None of the candidates seem to have an interest in what will happen on Minjerribah in the coming years. Or the destruction of koala habitat that is playing a huge part in the declining population of koalas in Redland City.
I understand your concerns , however both the issues are in State and or Federal Jurisdictions. The change to the Koala reserves is mandated by the State. The council can’t amend those State Government determinations without their agreement.
They in turn are looking at their own election needs , a wider agenda.
The Redland City Strategic plan must be approved by State government. Our council can argue their case but will have little if any weight. None legally.
Ergo if we want to change the new boundaries we need to change the minds of the State Members, Ministers etc.
THE COUNCIL IS BOUND BY THEIR LAWS.
I recommend all Redlanders actually watch a few of the relevant council videos and note the reasons given by the Council officers whose job it is to assess these and development issues that they conform to the STATE laws . they invariably state that we can take developers/ government to court but if they conform to with the legislation the Ratepayers/ council will probably lose and have to bear expensive costs.
The council has little real wriggle room when it comes to challenging State Legislation.