General News
5 April, 2024
It’s now ‘Team Cairns’
TEAM politics are out the door as new Cairns Mayor Amy Eden calls on all councillors to unite as “Team Cairns” for the good of the region.
In her first interview after she was declared mayor, Cr Eden called for the end of teams in the council, despite running a team during the election.
She received 30.70 per cent (25,782 of the 88,650 official preference votes counted), ahead of outgoing mayor Terry James (24.04 per cent, 20,187) and independent Paul Taylor (23.26 per cent (19,532).
Cr Eden said the Unity Team nor Team Eden did not exist anymore.
She said she believed all councillors were on a path of togetherness, collaboration and renewal. During the interview, Cr Eden – with Cr Cathy Zeiger on Wednesday afternoon – said she backed the division 3 independent councillor as her deputy mayor as opposed to Cr Brett Olds (division 9) who has indicated he is also standing for the position.
She raised real concerns about the level of council debt but admitted there was nothing she could do in the next budget which had almost been finalised.
Cr Eden did not elaborate on former chief executive officer John Andrejic’s possible future with the council after admitting he worked on her campaign, including offering policy advice. She noted that current chief executive officer Mica Martin’s contract ends in 12 months.
The new council will be sworn in at 6pm next Thursday.
NEW Cairns Mayor Amy Eden wants to ditch team politics in the council chambers and is urging all councillors to unite as “Team Cairns” for the good of the region.
In her first interview after she was declared mayor, Cr Eden called for the end of teams in the council, despite running a team during the election.
“Let’s not talk about the Unity Team (and) Team Eden … (they) don’t exist anymore, it’s Team Cairns,” Cr Eden said on Wednesday at Gordonvale which she described as one of her heartlands.
She said she believed all councillors were on a path of togetherness and collaboration.
Cr Eden said it was time for renewal for the new council which was made up of three former Unity members (Cr Brett Moller in div.1, Cr Kristy Valley in div. 6 and Cr Rhonda Coughlan in div. 8).
Only one Team Eden candidate crossed the line – Cr Trevor Tim in div. 4 – while the rest of the council were independents – Cr Matthew Tickner (div. 2), Cr Zeiger (div. 3), Cr Rob Pyne (div. 5), Cr Anna Middleton (div.7) and Cr Brett Olds (Div.9).
Cr Eden said Team Cairns would become the “mouthpiece of Cairns” and she hoped councillors would work together and in harmony, while accepting there would be differences and robust debate.
During the interview, involving Cr Zeiger, she said she would move to bring all stakeholders together, including the police and MPs, to seek urgent solutions to crime. She also:
Aimed to introduce free green waste disposal as soon as possible
Organised the swearing-in of the council to be at the Cairns Performing Arts Centre so up to 950 people could attend on April 11 at 6pm
Declared the first council meeting was on April 12, including electing the new deputy mayor
Planned regular community consultations involving all councillors and relevant officers
Expressed disappointment that just one of her team – Trevor Tim – had been elected to council.
Cr Eden said she would nominate Cr Zeiger as her deputy mayor.
She said she and Cr Zeiger were known as “the community queens” and Cr Zeiger would be more than capable filling in for her.
Cr Eden said they didn’t agree on everything but worked on issues “professionally and with respect.”
She said the declaration after nearly three weeks since the March 16 elections was “ a relief, but very exciting”.
Cr Eden said the council debt was of “real concern” but there would be little the new council could do in the first term because the 2024-25 budget before June 30 was almost finalised and could only be tweaked.
She said she was determined to bring in free green waste disposal after listening to her constituents.
Cr Eden said she won because there was “mood for change” after 12 years of the “old council”.
“It’s time for fresh energy, fresh thinking,” she said.
Cr Eden said it was also time for councillors to connect with the community and become more inclusive and engaging – something she said the previous council failed at.
“For myself as mayor I will be on the ground, present and available,” she said.
Cr Eden said there would be “uncomfortable and difficult” discussions about crime with the police, MPs and other stakeholders, and said the recent spate of gun-related incidents was “unacceptable”.
She said it was disappointing that only one of her team was becoming a councillor and described the list of candidates as a Melbourne Cup field.
As for the future of chief executive officer Mica Martin, Cr Eden said her contract had another 12 months to go but she would not elaborate on any role for former CEO John Andrejic.
She acknowledged he was one of her 160-plus volunteers who worked on her campaign, including erecting corflutes and also advising on policy matters.
Cr Zeiger said she had been a councillor for nine years, engaged well with the community, worked well with other councillors and was “a strong leader”. She said she was looking forward to working with a diverse and balanced group of councillors.
Cr Zeiger said, while the CBD had to be maintained to make it attractive for tourists and visitors, there needed to be a new focus on the suburbs.
She said both her and Cr Olds had the same vision of “bringing the city together, bringing the council together”.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Cr Zeiger said.
