New mayor looks for pledge of respect

The Northern Midlands municipality has continued a tradition of supporting female leadership with the election of former journalist and Longford local Alison Andrews as mayor.

Ms Andrews is the third female mayor since council amalgamations in 2009, following long-serving councillors Kim Polley (2000-2014, 14 years as mayor) and Mary Knowles (2018-2016, eight years as mayor) - a run only broken by a single term from David Downie (2014-2018).

Ms Andrews (4369 votes) claimed a tight mayoral race from Paul Terrett (4308), who narrowly polled the most first preference votes but was overtaken by 61 votes after remaining preferences were distributed.

Three subsequent recounts, the final one involving the Electoral Commission going right back to the starting blocks, resulted in only six votes changing, cementing Ms Andrew’s victory.

She steps into the vacancy left by outgoing mayor Mary Knowles, who chose not to re-contest the top job after a harrowing four years. 

Along with recently retired general manager Des Jennings, she was ruthlessly, and on one occasion successfully pursued by councillor Andrew McCullagh on issues of alleged misuse of council funds, while retired deputy mayor Janet Lambert and elected mayor Ms Andrews were called out on Code of Conduct breaches while defending fellow councillors.

In December 2024 Ms Andrews was threatened with legal action by Mr McCullagh and forced to distribute a formal, written apology to the council chamber when he took offence to wording she used about him in a meeting.

The clash between Mr McCullagh, fellow councillors and the GM has defined the past term and tainted what has otherwise been a productive and financially stable council.

Ultimately Mr McCullagh’s combative methods alienated most of his peers and drew repeated findings of personal misconduct against himself, contributing to an unsuccessful tilt at the mayoral role in this election.

In the mayoral race Mr McCullagh was excluded first with the lowest number of primary votes followed by incumbents Wendy Mitchell and Adam Barnett, whose 2228 votes ultimately decided the winner in Ms Andrews.

Longford farmer Richard Archer was elected Deputy Mayor after securing 861 first preference votes and 56.5 percent of the vote following the distribution of preferences.

With the total number of Northern Midlands councillor seats permanently reduced from nine down to seven, the remaining council includes successful candidates Adam Barnett (first term, 727 primary first preference votes), Wendy Mitchell (first term, 653), Matthew Brooks (fourth term, 861) and Nicole Graham (first term, 576).

Only Mr Terrett and Ms Andrews cleared the primary quota outright on the first count, with the remaining five seats filled as the field was systematically narrowed down.

After patiently waiting for the results of count-backs over the weekend, Ms Andrews said she is now looking forward to a fresh start for Northern Midlands Council.

She admitted that after a tough first term she thought long and hard about standing for mayor.

“In the end I put my name up because I wanted people to know they had a choice, a local person that they could relate to, plus I believe I have the skills to get the council back in shape and working as a team,” she said.

“One of the great privileges of my career in journalism was getting to work in my place and write about the place that I come from. I know the people, I love the Northern Midlands and I’ve always supported and advocated for it.”

Ms Andrews is the fourth member of her family to sit on the local council.

She said she was disappointed with the commitment and experience lost on council with Mary Knowles, Dick Adams, Richard Goss and Janet Lambert all finishing up this year, but is pleased to see some new faces at the table.

“They have worked hard and been the voice of common sense and represented their constituents with pride - I particularly take my hat off to Mary who has been a strong mayor through difficult times.”

Ms Andrews said she wants to build a culture where debate does not mean attacking individuals but finding a solution for the community by working together.

“We’ve got a lot to get on with, from finishing capital works such as the last stage of the Campbell Town main street upgrade and the TRANSLink Intermodal Facility (TIF) at Western Junction to dealing with sewerage problems at Evandale and making sure roads get sealed and footpaths built.

“But I also want to see a change in culture in the council, and I’ll be suggesting everyone sign the Civility Pledge that Victorian politician Helen Haynes was the first to sign not long before her horrific attack.

“It simply states: In my political life, I pledge to act with honesty, respect and compassion." 

Elected Mayors

Major Cities and Regional Centres

• Hobart: Charles Wooley (Lord Mayor, newly elected, replacing Anna Reynolds)
• Launceston: Matthew Garwood (Re-elected)
• Glenorchy: Sue Hickey (Re-elected)
• Clarence: Drew Jenner (Newly elected, replacing Brendan Blomeley)
• Devonport: Alison Jarman (Re-elected)
• Burnie: Giovanna Simpson (Newly elected)

Other Tasmanian Mayors (Elected / Re-elected)

• Huon Valley: Abby McKibben (Newly elected, replacing Sally Doyle)
• Kingborough: Jo Westwood (Newly elected)
• Break O'Day: Mick Tucker (Re-elected)
• Flinders: Rachel Summers (Re-elected)
• Sorell: Janet Gatehouse (Re-elected)
• Waratah-Wynyard: Chloe Foster (Newly elected)
• Derwent Valley: Casey Farrell
• Glamorgan-Spring Bay: Greg Raspin
• West Coast: Lindsay Newman (Newly elected)
• Northern Midlands: Alison Andrews (Newly elected)
• King Island: Sarina Laidler (Re-elected)
• Central Coast: Cheryl Fuller (Re-elected)
• Kentish: Kate Haberle (Re-elected unopposed)
• Central Highlands: Lou Triffitt (Re-elected)
• Latrobe: Vonette Mead (Newly elected)
• Meander Valley: Stephanie Cameron (Newly elected)
• Dorset: Rhys Beattie
• George Town: Greg Dawson (Newly elected, replacing Greg Keezer)
• Circular Head: Gerard Blizzard (Re-elected)