General News
24 December, 2025
Council ends year in discord
CAIRNS Regional Council’s final marathon meeting of the year last week was embroiled in controversy, division, backflips and one-upmanship.
The nearly four hour-long meeting, including a closed doors session, covered a 30-plus item agenda, ranging from Cairns Celebrates 150 years program to an attempt by Mayor Amy Eden to become the sole public voice of the organisation.
It also included a move to axe the welcome to Country acknowledgement at every meeting with Deputy Mayor Brett Olds and councillors Matthew Tickner and Brett Moller wanting the tradition stopped.
Cr Olds said he wanted to “scrap it”.
“I don’t think we should be doing the welcome to Country at all,” he said.
Cr Tickner said he would “always push back on policy that requires me and every other resident in Cairns to be welcomed as a guest in their own country”.
Cr Moller said council should not only be acknowledging Traditional Owners, but early settlers and multicultural migrants as well.
The council’s only Indigenous councillor, Trevor Tim, defended the custom, declaring it a mark of respect to Aboriginal and Torres Islander cultures.
He said he was frustrated that the issue had become so divisive.
“If you do not want to acknowledge (Country), walk out of the room, come back in after,” he said.
“That’s a term of disrespect is what I feel, but respecting your opinion as well.”
Cr Olds, Tickner and Rob Pyne also voted against a motion to water down its net zero policy.
The council finally voted 7-3 in favour of the plan which will set a 43% emissions reduction by 2030 and reduce the amount of renewable energy the council must use, after almost 30 minutes of debate.
Division seven councillor Anna Middleton said she voted for the strategy “with a heavy heart”.
“My concern is that we wouldn’t end up with a strategy at all, which could have happened today,” she said.
“It’s better than nothing, but it’s still a watering down. At the start of the year, we were already at 49% emissions reduction.”
Mayor Amy Eden tried to reject a report allowing the Deputy Mayor and councillors to have more responsibility within local government.
The council voted to provide a review of the recently introduced Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 as part of a Parliamentary Inquiry.
Under the Bill, Ms Eden would be the council’s sole official spokeswoman.
But the report noted that several changes within the bill weren’t supported by council, including an amendment that would limit other councillors and executives from speaking on behalf of the municipality.
It said council had always acknowledged the Mayor’s role as the official council spokeswoman.
“However, in the event the Mayor is unavailable, the responsibility should transfer to the Deputy Mayor.
“Furthermore, the council should retain the discretion through its media policy to enable other councillors to be quoted in its press releases.”
Cr Eden said the bill would give the council “a single, clear spokesperson who is empowered to act in the best interests of the region”.
“Communities elect the Mayor to lead,” she said.
Additionally, the council report has called for the Deputy Mayor to be the default chairperson for ordinary and special meetings, rather than a delegate appointed solely by the Mayor.
Councillors voted 9-1 in favour of the motion with the Mayor to make her own submission to the inquiry.
