Unofficial opposition? Hinterland mayoral candidate considers options

Wayne Parcell: I expect to be a voice for accountability.

by Janine Hill

ALTHOUGH he placed back in the field, the only hinterland candidate for mayor of the Sunshine Coast does not regret having a run for election.

Montville resident Wayne Parcell, who polled fifth in a field of six with about 6.43% of the vote, is happy that he held true to his beliefs during the campaign ride.

“I’m glad I did it. I feel very comfortable that I stuck with my principles right through. I didn’t give up on anything or go with popular opinions on things. I stuck with values-based direction.”

Mr Parcell complimented new mayor, former television presenter Rosanna Natoli, on running a good campaign.

He realised during the election that Ms Natoli had a strong following thanks to her media career.

“People said to me, ‘She’s been in my living room for 28 years, how could I not vote for her because I feel like I know her’,” he said.

Mr Parcell, whose election motto was “change that matters to you”, hoped that the new council would deliver the change that mattered to people.

He said he had been asked if he would now become “unofficial opposition” but he was undecided about taking on the role of critic.

He expected it would take the new mayor six months to settle in and unify the councillors as a team.

“If, after six months, you’re not seeing much different, then that’s probably a sign of what’s to come. It might be that the immoveable object is still immoveable,” he said.

He said the election had taught him the power of visibility.

“A great message is only a great message if you’re visible enough for people to see it and follow it,” he said.

“If you don’t have that visibility, being a great candidate with great attributes doesn’t mean anything if people don’t have the awareness to look at you.” 

Mr Parcell offered congratulations to newly elected Mayor Rosanna Natoli. “Winning the trust and confidence of the community is no small feat, and I wish her the very best in her new role.  Respectfully, I expect to be a voice for accountability, to the extent possible, when the honeymoon period is over.

“I have not yet decided if I should try again in 2028 - I am thinking about it, and have some ideas about how we might approach it with a longer campaign runway to capitalise on what has been achieved in terms of awareness and visibility. Let’s see how the next six months play out.”

Mr Parcell said he had heard an “enormous amount of feedback about the appalling organisation” of the local government elections. 

He suggested there was also a lot of work to be done educating voters, many of whom did not understand which voting system was in use or that they had to vote for both a mayor and a councillor.

Mr Parcell doubted the state government would be interested in improving local government elections “because they don’t want too much power in local government”.