IF YOU want different, you need to vote differently, according to mayoral candidate Min Swan. 

The small business owner and mother told a Nambour Chamber of Commerce meet the candidates event she was running for mayor because it was an important time for leadership in the region.

“I’m not here because I ever saw myself as being the mayor of the Sunshine Coast. I’m here because of my complete and total dedication to serving the Sunshine Coast,” she said.

 “We’re in a four year period right now that I genuinely believe will have generational consequences. I’m a mother and we need to make sure that the right person is leading the train.”

A former Maroochydore High student, Ms Swan runs her own events and brand marketing business, White House International.

She has worked with eight Sunshine Coast chambers of commerce through her business, is president of the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network, and is on the Sunshine Coast 2032 leadership team.

Ms Swan said the Sunshine Coast needed a mayor who could represent the region at all levels and bring people together.

She said it was important to ensure “real conversations rather than box-ticking” occurred with the individuals and groups who were doing the good work in the community.

She offered herself as a conduit between the council’s dedicated employees and the community. “I am an individual who can be the bridge between internal council teams and have them feel proud while the community feels heard and respected,” she said.

“What I’m offering you is a new era of leadership. What I’m offering you is something new and different where your voice is heard, where your actions are implemented and where, together, we are the brightest community in the world.  

“No-one is solving these things alone. Together we are stronger.”

Readers Question on spending in areas out of council’s responsibility

Trevor asked: Which candidates, mayoral and divisional, commit to getting back to basics, stay in their lane and stop spending ratepayers’ funds on what are essentially State and Federal responsibilities?

Ms Swan’s answer: 

Cost shifting is a growing problem within local government.  Across Queensland, according to LGAQ, local government is picking up $360m in expenditure that belongs to other levels of government or private enterprise.  The issue begins and ends with the fact that while the responsibility technically lies elsewhere, the outcome is that our local people are greatly impacted and local communities will not tolerate no outcome. Topics such as homelessness, public transport, housing are mostly under state control, yet the impact on local communities is high. I commit to building a Team Sunshine Coast mentality where we have stronger, more productive relationships at all levels so that we can reduce this cost shifting in our region and ensure ratepayers funds are directed where they are naturally intended.