Wards

The problem

In the Toowoomba Region, the top 10 candidates with the most votes win a seat on Council.

But with around 70% of the population living in Toowoomba City, the city votes overwhelm the country votes. That's why the vast majority of candidates elected are from the city.

This also makes it hard for elected councilors to truly represent the whole region, which covers 13,000 square kilometres.

The solution

Toowoomba Region should follow other councils in Queensland and introduce a 'ward' or 'division' system.

What this would mean is that instead of everyone in the region voting for 10 councilors in bulk, the region would be split into 10 wards/divisions of equal population, and everyone would get to vote for a single local councilor.

This would ensure at least two dedicated local councilors for regional towns like Oakey, Pittsworth, Clifton, Crows Nest, Kingsthorpe, Meringandan, Goombungee, Millmerran, Yarraman and Cambooya.

My promise

In 2023, I won the support of the majority of councilors to commission a report into a ward system. If re-elected, I will do everything in my power to finish the job and have a ward system in place for the 2028 local government elections.