A Sunshine Coast Council candidate who narrowly missed out on gaining a seat in 2020 has announced her plans to run again in March’s local government elections.
Kathryn Hyman is planning to run for the vacated seat of Division 8, which covers Marcoola, Mount Coolum, some of Maroochydore and surrounds, after the incumbent councillor Jason O’Pray last month announced his plans to run for mayor.
Out of more than 17,000 votes, Ms Hyman was less than 400 behind Cr O’Pray in 2020 and has continued her work in the community in pursuit of balanced, evidenced-based decision-making.
For more than eight years the mother-of-two has dedicated her time to community advocacy, especially in the planning and development space, and holds several executive community committee positions, including on the peak ratepayer association of the Sunshine Coast, OSCAR (Organisation of Sunshine Coast Association of Residents) Inc.
Ms Hyman says she is passionate about protecting our way of life and natural assets by ensuring well-planned development and aligned infrastructure.
“Growth is inevitable and a balanced approach to protecting our lifestyle and natural assets is possible through our planning scheme and aligned infrastructure provisions,” she said.
“2024 will see a new scheme for the Sunshine Coast and is a very important tenure in terms of ‘how we grow’.”
Her other focuses include economic growth and job creation beyond the casualised workforce; adaptation and resilience to change; and ensuring diverse and affordable housing is supported through local laws, the new planning scheme and effective collaboration with other tiers of government.
Ms Hyman said ‘Brand Sunshine Coast’ was a spectacular region but at risk of over-development and in need of protection, given tourism is one of our bread-and-butter economic sectors for small and medium businesses, and economy at large.
She is particularly interested in coastal management and planning for vulnerable coastal communities so that our assets are protected and remain insurable.
Through her efforts and experience dealing with the council, she said she fully understood the importance of the democratic arm of local government and knew how to navigate the bureaucracy, processes and governance.
“Instead of passing the buck, I will lobby and work with my state and federal counterparts to address issues facing locals on the ground. Regardless of jurisdiction and tiers of government, these issues need to be addressed collaboratively through government and meaningful consultation with the community,” she said.
She has chosen blue and white as her campaign colours, with the blue representing the sky being the limit in terms of the exciting times and innovation ahead for the region; and white being the elements – clean air, clean oceans and clean waterways.
“I chose not to buy into campaign T-shirts and I keep campaign paraphernalia to a minimum, because of the carbon footprint and ethical concerns attached these sorts of products,” she said.
She said her campaign volunteers would be demonstrating a quiet respectful presence at polling booths in March.
“I am of the opinion that politics is a serious business, not a circus, and the public should be able to enter a calm and measured space to engage in the political process,” she said.
“My feeling, and those I’ve been speaking to, feel that voters running the gauntlet to cast their vote via the hard sell of electioneers is intimidating and ‘in your face’.
“During the first two weeks of March, my volunteers won’t have bells and whistles, flashing neon or gaudy T-shirts – I aim for a quiet, respectful and approachable presence at the booths with information at hand.”
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