Resident meeting asks would be pollies to reveal their personal life stories rather than policies
Cr William Owen-Jones and mayoral hopeful Penny Toland. Picture: Glenn HampsonFOR
the three mayoral candidates who turned up, this was the one community
meeting where they were going to be stripped bare and required to reveal
themselves.
As more than 50 residents arrived at the youth
centre for the Oxenford Neighbourhood Watch regular meeting on Tuesday
night, co-ordinator Dominique Lummus and police liaison officer Senior
Sergeant Andrew Lake set up the ground rules. Gold Coast mayoral candidates at Oxenford Neighbourhood Watch meeting speaking to residents and members. Picture: Glenn HampsonCandidates would have five minutes to speak, there would be no questions and they could “mingle” later with residents.
Senior
Sergeant Lake admitted he had not brought his taser but his commanding
voice was enough — there were to be no policies or political statements,
candidates should keep it personal.
Businessman Brett Lambert,
one of the least publicly well-known of the six candidates standing for
mayor spoke first, racing through a 54-year biography. Gold
Coast mayoral candidates at Oxenford Neighbourhood Watch meeting where
mayoral hopeful Brett Lambert spoke to group co-ordinator Dominique
Lummus before giving a personal glimpse of his life. Picture: Glenn
HampsonHe recalled his parents operating at
service station at Griffith Street in Coolangatta before the family
moved north along the strip.
“I started work when I was six. I went to Coolangatta
school, then Surfers Paradise and Musgrave Hill. Both Penny and I went
to the same school at one time — not at the same time,” he said,
prompting a laugh from his rival.
“Then I went to Keebra. I played rugby (league) at school, Aussie rules on Sunday and soccer on Friday night.”
After
finishing school, one of his businesses was a successful publishing
company but he turned down an offer to move interstate and severed ties
because “I always wanted to stay on the Gold Coast”. Cr William Owen-Jones and mayoral hopeful Penny Toland. Picture: Glenn HampsonLike
Mr Lambert, Ms Toland has had a love affair with the city, arriving
here at the age of seven months. She went to Helensvale High School and
has remained in Division Two.
After studying as a medical
scientist at the Queensland University of Technology, she was now
“second-in-charge at the blood bank” helping trauma and oncology
patients.
These are the sorts of close-to-home stories rarely
discussed on the political campaign trail and rather than protests or
boredom, the audience lapped them up.
Ms Toland was explaining how
the expanding service at the hospital could now perform blood
transfusions on premature babies at 24 weeks.
“We are doing transfers on babies before they are born — that’s the nerdy side of me,” she added, giving a giggle.
She
played basketball until a ligament tear and meddled with kickboxing but
now spends her spare time feeding 19 magpies, 10 currawongs, two crows
and an ibis.
“I’m a lover, not a fighter,” she said, wondering out loud how she came to be feeding an ibis.
“I
demonstrate my creativity through fancy dress. On Halloween I was
dressed up as a murderous clown,” she said, explaining how she had
stunned her workmates.
The residents were laughing and in
something quite rare for a candidate, Ms Toland “time banked” her
speech, cutting it short by 20 seconds.
Lawyer Jim Wilson is
renowned for putting a blowtorch to political opponents, his tall frame
as intimidating as his voice. Here was a chance for his soft side to
shine. Gold
Coast mayoral candidates at Oxenford Neighbourhood Watch meeting
speaking to residents and members. Pictured: Mayoral candidate Jim
Wilson. Picture: Glenn HampsonBorn in Cloncurry, his parents working the land, he moved to Brisbane to attend secondary school before moving to the Coast.
He
studied a commerce and law degree at the University of Queensland and
in 1976 was admitted as a solicitor, building a solid commercial career.
As a 23-year-old, he captained Queensland in rugby union.
Mr
Wilson and his wife have four children — two boys and two girls — and
five grandchildren, and he paused to reflect on his solid family life.
They live in the Hinterland.“I feel very satisfied. I’ve been blessed,” he said.
The
informality of this election night meeting was a rare gift in a dogged
campaign and Mayor Tom Tate, who had previous appointment, along with
John Abbott and Andrew Middleton who were contacted late, missed an
opportunity to shine before voters.
“I started work when I was six. I went to Coolangatta
school, then Surfers Paradise and Musgrave Hill. Both Penny and I went
to the same school at one time — not at the same time,” he said,
prompting a laugh from his rival.
