‘I won’t be party political’, says Kerry
POTENTIAL Toowoomba Regional Council mayoral candidate Kerry Shine has hit back at comments he would bring party politics to the council if he elected.
Current Deputy Mayor Cr Carol Taylor this week said she was “disappointed to think politics might come into local government” because of Mr Shine signalling he was thinking about a tilt at the top job.
Mr Shine was the Toowoomba North MP between 2001 and 2012. He represented the Queensland Labor Party and served as Queensland’s Attorney General from 2006 to 2009.
“I have always believed that party politics have no place in the Toowoomba Regional Council,” Mr Shine said.
“It’s important to note Mayor Paul Antonio and former Mayor Peter Taylor have been members of the Liberal National party.
“As a State MP, I worked with the then Mayor Peter Taylor on many occasions, our conversations were never about party politics— they were about getting things done for Toowoomba, like securing our water supply with construction of the Wivenhoe pipeline.”
“It didn’t interfere with our ability to do job properly and deal with each other.”
Mr Shine said Labor HQ in Brisbane would not have any say over what he did as mayor.
“If I decide to run, and am fortunate enough to be elected, no one from Brisbane is going to tell me what to do,” he said.
“I’ll do what’s best for Toowoomba.”
Cr Antonio is no longer a member of the LNP - he removed his membership of the party from his registry of interests in 2017, but several current sitting councillors are.
Nancy Sommerfield and Chris Tait are both members of the LNP while Megan O’Hara Sullivan is a member of the Labor Party.
“There’s no mention that their membership has lead to party politics in council,” Mr Shine said.
Cr Shine announced he was considering a run for Toowoomba’s top job earlier this week.
He is so far the only candidate to signal any intention as to whether or not they will run at the next election, to be held on March 28, 2020.
Cr Antonio said he had already decided whether or not he will seek re-election next year, but he will not announce it until later this year.
“I know exactly what I’ll be doing and I’ll be telling that in my own time frame,” Cr Antonio said.
Cr Taylor said she was yet to decide whether she would seek re-election as a councillor.