By Jeremy Sollars
A by-election for the Southern Downs Regional Council might not need to be held if deputy mayor Jo McNally or councillor Cameron Gow is successful in being elected to State Parliament as the LNP member to replace Lawrence Springborg – depending on when the State election is called.
As reported this week councillors McNally and Gow – along with Stanthorpe resident James Lister – have nominated for LNP pre-selection for the State seat of Southern Downs, following the announcement late last year by Mr Springborg that he will retire from State politics at the next election.
The next State election is due in January 2018 but there is continued speculation Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will go early.
While the consensus among political commentators is that she will call the election sometime in the second half of this year, if she were to go to the polls before 19 March – the first anniversary of last year’s council election – and were either Cr McNally or Gow successful the council would be required to automatically swear in councillor election runner-up Craig Magnussen as their replacement.
Under the Local Government Act of Queensland if a councillor leaves office within the first 12 months after a council election a by-election is not required and instead the runner-up is automatically appointed.
Mr Magnussen – who is a current council employee – finished ninth out of a field of 36 councillor candidates who contested the 2016 election.
A by-election is required if a councillor leaves office during the 18 months following the election anniversary, and if a councillor vacancy is created after that 18 month period and before the next election – in other words the final 18 months of the four-year council term – the replacement is appointed by the council without a by-election.
The LNP has refused to put a timeframe around its pre-selection process for Southern Downs but it is understood ‘meet and greet’ sessions for party members to get together with the candidates are happening in Warwick, Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi this week and next.
Financial party members will then conduct a postal ballot to decide on Mr Springborg’s replacement as the Southern Downs candidate.
One Nation has not yet endorsed a candidate for Southern Downs but it is understood a prominent local person has been approached – and it’s not former deputy mayor Ross Bartley, who has told the Free Times on two recent occasions he has no interest in State politics.
