BONDAGE, narcotics sales, and plagiarism were just some of the topics that the Mayoral Debate touched on this week, as some candidates’ focus repeatedly strayed from the business forum concepts.
Cairns Local Government Election Mayoral candidates Amy Eden, John Kelly, Leah Potter, Paul Taylor, Denis Walls, Binda Warren, and current Mayor Terry James were present at the Cairns Chamber of Commerce Mayoral Election Debate Luncheon on Tuesday, 5 March.
With different candidates focused on different areas of improvement for the Cairns region, from floodplains to nightlife, when it came down to questions relating to cost of living pressures, water security, and financial impacts on ratepayers, there was a fine line between humour and serious answers.
Leah Potter, a comedian who runs a soup kitchen, wrapped up her introduction by announcing that she spent twelve years as a “bondage mistress”.
Paul Taylor, a former Queensland deputy police commissioner who resigned in 2022 amidst the backlash after he referred to a friend as a “vagina whisperer” at a policing conference, jokingly assured the audience that this was the first time he was meeting Ms Potter.
Ms Potter was later reminded by the moderator to answer the questions posed, after she was asked how she would ease pressure on Cairns ratepayers and she launched into a description of the rates of chlamydia infections, methylamphetamine use, and cocaine use in the Cairns population.
“What I propose, to increase our budget and ease the strain on ratepayers, is to monetise that,” Ms Potter said.
“We should build an extraction plant and extract the drugs, dehydrate them, and sell it off to the Southeast Asian market.”
Ms Potter did, however, ask a pertinent question of Councillor Amy Eden, who proposed stricter regulations around busking to prevent “beggars” from posing as street performers in the CBD.
“If it’s so offensive for people to observe poverty and homelessness, then maybe Council should work with some programs that might actually help that beggar to not have to be on the footpath begging for coins,” she said.
Cr Eden did not respond, but later emphatically asserted that she “can maintain integrity” after an audience member asked about the recent incident where the councillor was accused of plagiarising Toowoomba deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff in a Facebook post.
“The post in question was from a colleague of mine in a support network,” Ms Eden said.
“Did I contact her and get permission? Yes, I did.
“I apologise if there was any wrongdoing – the post in question was 283 words and I used a couple of them and I sought permission for that.”
Cr Vonhoff alleged at the time of the Facebook post being brought to her attention that she had not given permission for her words to be used.
Other candidates named their main concerns, including former JCU lecturer Denis Walls.
Mr Walls pledged to address the “CBD crisis” and implement an action plan for affordable housing and better public transport.
Mayor Terry James answered a question about the Cairns Water Security project by saying that the contract for the project has been signed and that it will be delivered over five council budgets to dilute the cost.
Country singer Binda Warren’s focus was on revitalising the Cairns Esplanade and CBD, including extending opening hours to keep tourism and hospitality dollars coming into the region.
John Kelly stressed the need to address the flooding that devastated Cairns in December and implement measures to reduce the risk of a disaster of that magnitude repeating itself.
Voters are reminded that the Cairns Local Government Election is on Saturday, 16 March, and early voting opportunities are available.
Find information about the candidates and the election on the council website.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: Council farewells Max O’Halloran and Aurukun woman awarded for work in community.
