New Mayor promises fresh leadership, community engagement

Television journalist and university lecturer and researcher Rosanna Natoli was officially declared winner of the mayoral ballot last Thursday.

Rosanna & Joe Natoli (Div 4) will both be serving on the new Council. 

by Janine Hill

THE Sunshine Coast’s new mayor has promised that residents will see change under her leadership and more community input in council decisions.

Television journalist and university lecturer and researcher Rosanna Natoli was officially declared winner of the mayoral ballot late on Thursday night. 

In a video she posted on social media to announce the news, she said it was an exciting time that would be about the people of the Sunshine Coast.

“I pledge to really make a difference to this community and you will see a new style of leadership and a new council,” she said.

Speaking to the Gazette, Ms Natoli said the people of the Sunshine Coast had voted for change and that is what they would get.

“It was very clear when I spoke to people that there was a disconnect between the community and the council, and so I wanted to restore that communication between the people and their elected representatives,” she said.

“I have spoken to councillors elected, the majority of them, and they want that, too, so it will be different in that we will have more community voices in our decision making.”

Ms Natoli was unsure when she and the rest of the council would be sworn in, saying it would not be until all divisions were declared.

That will likely hinge on a recount in Division 10, where incumbent councillor David Law led challenger Peter Walsh by only a handful of votes after the distribution of preferences. 

The Electoral Commission was yet to post the full preference vote count when Ms Natoli was declared, instead saying the official preference count was underway, the successful candidate had received the majority of votes, and the results would be published upon completion.

The Good Friday public holiday meant options for celebrating Ms Natoli’s win were limited and she said she and her husband, Joe, who was re-elected as councillor for Division four, spent the day with their family, which they had planned to do anyway.

She had waited almost two weeks to learn she would officially be mayor although she had led the field of six mayoral candidates after the first night of unofficial counting, with Ashley Robinson the next nearest contender.

“I’ve been quite calm because there (was) nothing I could do to change anything, nothing I could do to make it go faster,” she said.

“I’ve had a lot of work to do at home... signs to collect, brochures to put in boxes,” she said. “There were a lot of jobs around the home ... so that allowed me to keep busy to distract my thinking about it ... my next few years are going to be busy, I may as well get that housework done now!”

High calibre candidates

Ms Natoli said voting reflected the standard of candidates who nominated for election and she wanted to acknowledge what they all brought to the campaign and the community.

“I would like to acknowledge that each of the mayoral candidates offered something and each had some wonderful qualities and that was recognised in the community which is why you saw some close votes, because there were quality candidates. 

“When you get that happening, the community really has a big decision.”

Ms Natoli said she had enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from all over the Sunshine Coast, particularly small growth areas and rural areas, during her campaign, and that had given her a very clear picture of what the community wanted to see in a new council.

“That has allowed me to see and get a feel for what’s important to people and people wanted change, people wanted a change in the direction and focus. That’s what they said and that’s what they voted for,” she said.

“They wanted a council that was delivering services that mattered to them on a day-to-day basis.”