General News
18 August, 2026
Mayoral campaign reveals key issues for council
CANDIDATES vying to be the next Mayor of Tablelands Regional Council have been busy campaigning over the past few weeks, attending town gatherings and talking to people from all walks of life before the election this Saturday.
Counting of the votes in the full postal by-election will begin after 6pm on election day, with voters able to keep up to date with the counting through Electoral Commission Queensland’s website.
Because votes can still be counted if they arrive before 1 September, it is unknown when the final result will be declared.
Three current councillors are contesting the poll – Kevin Cardew, Dave Bilney and Kylie Lang – with new faces Mark Norvall and Jeanie Fletcher making up the five spots on the ballot.
Mr Bilney said rates, roads and infrastructure had been issues consistently raised wit him during the campaign, along with the need to ensure value for ratepayer money.
“Communication and community engagement are also strong themes. People want a council that is more visible, accessible and responsive,” he said.
“Financial sustainability, staffing and council efficiency have also been raised, together with the need to ensure every community is treated fairly and represented.”
Mr Bilney said people wanted improved communication, quarterly community forums introduced and community working groups reinstated.
“They also want to see strong financial management to ensure council remains financially sustainable and positioned to meet future infrastructure obligations,” he said.
Mr Cardew said the main issues raised with him throughout the campaign was the condition and poor maintenance of assets (roads, stormwater drains, town centres), wasting money and increasing rates, community dissatisfaction with council around staffing levels and the divestment of assets.
“I’m of the view that council needs to revisit the operational plan to put more boots on the ground to maintain our assets, rebuild capacity within our own organisation to do more work inhouse ourselves, and getting back to basics by doing basic core local government functions properly and efficiently,” he said.
He said council’s controversial divestment program was also “heavily discussed” by locals and he has vowed to “revisit” the program if elected.
“I also want to continue advocating to Transport and Main Roads for traffic lights at the Grove Street intersection to help alleviate traffic congestion on Main Street, secure funding for a new sewerage treatment plant in Atherton, and work towards developing a new Town Planning Scheme for TRC that will incorporate the future vision for our whole community well into the future,” he said.
Ms Lang said the most common issue raised with her had been the lack of communication from council.
“The community feels that by not sharing information in advance of decisions being made and not providing adequate updates afterwards, that council is not being transparent,” she said.
“The number of confidential items is another concern. I understand why the community perceives this as a lack of transparency, and we need to consider how we can address the legal requirements regarding what we can openly share while minimising the number of confidential items.
“I believe that if we can improve communication and transparency – especially communication – our community will feel more informed, more involved, and less like decisions are simply being made around them.
“This, for me, is where much of the disconnect between council and the community currently lies.”
Mr Norvall said the main four top issues raised with him had been the lack of community consultation, the destruction of community assets, the state of roads and the increases in rates.
“People want more real consultation, demonstrated attempts at saving assets rather than demolishing them, better road maintenance, more debate in council meetings rather than often what appears to be a forgone conclusion, and less items in the confidential part of meetings,” he said.
“The divestment program has been an enormous part of discussions with residents – I would guess that 80% have raised this as a major issue.”
Ms Fletcher did not respond to The Express’ questions but reiterated she wanted to be a “God-fearing Mayor” and that she had no confidence in the current chief executive officer.
Note: Jeanie Fletcher did not wish to provide an image for this article.
