Close run race

IT WAS a close contest but former Noosa councillor Tony Wellington has won the top job and will be Noosa’s next mayor.
The results were announced on Wednesday 30 March after a neck-and-neck race for the job with former councillor Sandy Bolton nipping at Cr Wellington’s heels throughout the vote count which saw a win by only 833 votes.
Cr Wellington said he was very excited about the opportunity and is committed to working for the best interests of Noosa over the next four years.
“My intentions have always been to ensure Noosa remains the best place on the planet in which to live,” he said.
Cr Wellington said Bob Abbot was the “perfect” deputy mayor and congratulated former Noosa mayor Noel Playford on his two-year term, saying he was “absolutely the best person to lead the councillor team”.
“Where the Noosa Council under Noel Playford’s recent mayoralty has been largely focused on getting the machine up and running, this new council can look further into the future.
“In that regard we can afford to be more visionary,” Cr Wellington said.
“As the CEO said to me, the short-term Noosa Council managed to achieve four year’s work in half that time.
“Everyone involved, staff and councillors, should feel rightly proud of that effort.”
Cr Wellington said he aims to replicate both the collaborative style of the last council as well as its fiscal accountability.
“Once we get the formality of the official swearing-in out of the way, the new councillors will be offered a series of briefings designed to bring them up to speed on council operations,” he said.
“Becoming a councillor is a steep learning curve and I know that returning councillors Frank (Wilkie), Frank (Pardon) and Joe (Jurisevic) will help with that mentoring process.”
The new council will also get busy preparing the next budget before the end of the financial year, with the new planning scheme the next big task for the new council.
“No doubt each councillor will bring their own wish-list for the next four years,” Cr Wellington said.
“I will be sitting down with each of them to talk through those ambitions and see how we can make them a reality.”
Cr Wellington said he has a personal list of aims that was “too long to relate here” including introducing sustainability measures into council operations, helping diversify the local economy, and establishing worthy KPIs for the environment and resident wellbeing.
“There are also issues that need to be resolved with the State Government including Noosa River controls and local roadworks including Beckmans Road and the Elm/Myall Street intersection,” he said.
“The most important task will be ensuring the new planning scheme incorporates the values that underpin the Noosa lifestyle and reinforces Noosa’s intrinsic approach to development.
“The plan must also allow for changes to modern business practices as well as sustainable building design.”