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Written by Les Fawkes
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Tuesday, 08 January 2008 |
The Sunshine Coast Regional
Council Election is on Saturday, March 15, 2008. This will be a new
experience as this election will be the first for the newly amalgamated
Sunshine Coast Council. This first electoral period will be important
for setting up the administrative procedures for this council to carry
on into the future.
Sunshine Coast Hinterland residents who have lived in the area for some time will remember Maleny-born Winston Johnston. He has announced that he will stand as a Division 5 candidate for election to the new Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
Division 5 is the largest in number and area with about 17,380 voters. Division 5 includes the townships of Palmwoods, Woombye, Eudlo, Mooloolah, Landsborough, Maleny, Conondale and Montville. It is the most diverse nature of the proposed 12 electorates in the new amalgamated council.
Winston, now retired, previously had a successful career in finance, business, council administration and planning. He started this business and it was first situated in Maleny. Winstone represented Caloundra City Council's Division 1 from 1982-1991. Mr. Johnston said he had the necessary credentials and experience for a place on the team to manage Australia's fastest growing region.
'The new council faces a huge job,' he says.
"'It's going to be a whole new ball game for councilors, requiring a professional mindset and specialised skills to restructure the needs of an entire region into one united organisation. It will also require unprecedented levels of dedication, imagination, vision and experience.'
Mr. Johnston said his aim would be to strike a balance between the demands of regional administration and a commitment to the particular needs of Division 5.
'My approach will be to keep an open mind, make my own assessments and deliver outcomes based on the needs of my community and I will not be a mouthpiece for the aspirations of any pressure group or individual.'
This will ensure local ratepayers retain a prominent voice when it comes to decisions affecting their particular area.
Having lived in Maleny, Woombye and Landsborough, he has developed a comprehensive knowledge of the history and the developing needs of each community, as well as a growing need for, sport, recreation and youth facilities.
As a former Councillor, Mr. Johnston's CV includes membership of the following boards: Caloundra/Maroochy Water Supply Board (six years during the planning and construction of Baroon Pocket Dam); Sunshine Coast Tourism and Development Board (five years); Sunshine Coast University Site Planning Committee (three years); Maroochy Hospital Board (three years).
He is a principal of one of Queensland's largest general insurance brokerages, Your Insurance Broker, which is listed as one of the Top 400 privately owned businesses in Queensland and has also won an "Excellence in Business" award.
He is now retired and lives at Maleny with his wife Helen. They have two children, Rachel (32) and Winston (30). Both Winston Jnr and Rachel attended school in Maleny.
"Life on the Range has been good to us,'' Winstone says. "Our roots are here, we have prospered here, our friends and our hearts are here. Now that I have retired from active business, my ambition is to once again represent the community, to whom I owe so much.''
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 January 2008 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
