Colleen Fuller and Robert Hooke elected as shire leaders

Gunnedah Shire Council mayor Colleen Fuller will continue to lead the shire until the next local government election after being re-elected to the position for a further two years.

Cr Fuller was elected to the role in the first meeting following the 2024 council elections and has enjoyed a long tenure as a shire councillor.

Cr Rob Hooke was elected as deputy mayor.

The election of the two positions was conducted at last Wednesday afternoon’s ordinary meeting.

The formalities looked different this election, with councillors instead voting through a show of hands rather than an ordinary ballot.

Initially, councillors had started the process of adopting the motion to vote using the secret ballot method that had been used previously.

Cr Kate McGrath amended the motion to adopt a ‘show of hands’ instead.

She pointed out that Cr Linda Newell was taking part in the meeting

online, which had been pre-approved at the August meeting.

General manager Eric Groth confirmed that a councillor cannot vote electronically using the ordinary ballot method if attending by audio-visual link.

Cr Robert Hoddle voiced concern with the change away from the previous voting method and noted that the reason for the secret ballot was to ensure that votes weren’t disclosed.

Cr Juliana McArthur agreed with Cr Hoddle’s concerns, but pointed out it was the only way to proceed unless Cr Newell excused herself from the vote.

The possibility of the elections being pushed back until all councillors were at a meeting in person was also briefly discussed, but Cr Fuller said it was important that the votes proceeded as planned.

The open voting method was ultimately adopted.

Two nominations were received for each position.

Cr Fuller was re-nominated for mayor, with Cr Ann Luke also nominated for the position.

Five votes were cast for Cr Fuller, being Crs Fuller, Hooke, McArthur, Hoddle and Tammey McAllan.

Cr Luke received three votes, being Crs Luke, McGrath and Newell.

Two nominations were received for the role of deputy mayor, with Crs Hooke and Luke contesting the position.

Cr Hooke was elected five votes to Cr Luke’s three votes, with the same voting split from the earlier mayoral election.