Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to pay tribute today to the many years of sterling service given by the now resigned Mayor of the City of Caloundra, Councillor Don Aldous. We will have an amalgamation of the three councils on the Sunshine Coast to form the Sunshine Coast Regional Council as from the council elections to be held next month. While the Labor Party’s approach to forcing these mergers without public consultation should be condemned, in the case of the Sunshine Coast it is a very positive outcome that we will have a Sunshine Coast council to speak on behalf of all local people. The Sunshine Coast, for a long time, has not had the same sense of identity as the Gold Coast. Now that we will have a Sunshine Coast council, that is a very important step forward because it means we will speak with one voice in approaching governments at all levels—governments, ministers and departments like to know with whom they are dealing. The Sunshine Coast is the most wonderful part of Australia in which to live. It is one of the fastest growing areas in our country and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council will epitomise our community. It will work on behalf of our community and help to bring Caloundra, Maroochy and Noosa together.

Having said that, it was a very great surprise that the Mayor of Caloundra, on medical advice and for personal reasons, saw it necessary to resign yesterday as the mayor, just a few weeks before the council is amalgamated to form part of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Councillor Don Aldous is very much a coast identity. He and his wife, Heather, have been very well-known faces at functions right throughout the city of Caloundra, both during the time Councillor Aldous served previously as mayor and during the period he has served as mayor up until yesterday. Both of them will be greatly missed. They are people who are highly respected, people who are very strongly of the Christian faith, people of incredible integrity and people who have worked extraordinarily hard on behalf of the people of the City of Caloundra during the time of Don’s public service.

It is quite sad that Don, on medical advice, had to retire just a few weeks before the council is to disappear into the new Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Having said that, the fact that this is necessary, while regrettable, gives us the opportunity to say thanks publicly to Don and Heather for the way in which they have given service in their respective roles as Mayor and Mayoress of Caloundra.

Don was born and raised in the city of Caloundra. He was a successful businessman before being elected to council; he owned four butcher shops, an abattoir and a wholesale meat distributorship. He was originally elected in 1982 to the former Landsborough Shire Council. In 1988 he was elected as the second Mayor of Caloundra City and he has held a number of positions on the Sunshine Coast more widely such as Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Regional Organisation of Councils, Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Local Transition Committee overseeing the amalgamation, President of Aquagen Water and Renewable Energy Board, Director of Caloundra City Enterprises and Chairman of the Caloundra Futures Forum.

Don and Heather Aldous will leave huge shoes to fill. We have two contenders to become the Mayor of the Sunshine Coast: the Mayor of Maroochy, Councillor Natoli, and the Mayor of Noosa, Councillor Bob Abbot. These two gentlemen will be going head to head, and we have about 50 people seeking election to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Some are new candidates and some are councillors on the Noosa, Maroochy and Caloundra councils. It is really important with the new council becoming an entity from March that we as a community get behind that new council and that new council get behind the community so that we are able to speak as a strong single voice when we are dealing with the state and Commonwealth governments.

I do wish Don and Heather Aldous a long and happy retirement. They richly deserve their retirement. On behalf of the community I salute their many years of sterling service.