Councillors get marked | Fraser Coast News | Local News in Fraser Coast

Sorry guys, you can now add your comments to this story. How do you rate the Fraser Coast's councillors?

my score for the fraser coast regional councillors.
kruger. 0%
mcneven. 0%
harris. o%
o'connell. B
brooks. 10%
dalgleish. A for effort
nioa. B
arthur. 3/10
hovard. 5/10
muckan. A for effort

All Councilors have over marked themselves .
Mick Kruger is reactive rather than proactive and only reacts to negative press.
Councilor O'Connell needs to spend more time and become a dedicated councilor and maybe give up his other jobs and concentrate on his portfolio.The only half decent councilor is David Dalgleish All the others are only trying to keep there jobs.These councilors should be running council not the bureaucrats the buck stops with them . So if you can't stand up to the bureaucrats and do what you were elected to do get out ..

At the same that Council is dragged across the front pages of the paper for wrecking the local economy - some of the Councillors are giving themselves 9 out 10! What planet are they living on? Mick's been promising to fix the problem for 2 years. He can no longer blame amalgamation for the city's woes - he needs to replace the 'tough negotiator' with a smart negotiator - one who can attract investment, not turn it away.

My scorecard for the FCRC is as follows:
LINDA HARRIS;: 25% at least she does try her best for the smaller areas.
GERARD O`CONNELL; 55% he does put in the time and effort and seems to work hard for the community but what a waste of money with meetings at Susan Riverand consultancy reports..
SUE BROOKS; - 5% Hopeless as a councillor.
DAVID DALGLEISH; 75% and an A for effort - only one with any common sense but does not get any support from other councillors.
BELINDA MCNEVEN; -10% Only there to further her political ambitions and get her photo in newspaper.
ANNE NIOA; 30% Does a little towards tourism and is at least enthusiastic.about the area.
JULIE ARTHUR ; 0% Does she even attend council meetings as when a vote is taken her name is missing most times.
DEBBIE HAWES; 110% WHAT A JOKE - What has she done besides knock back development. - 5%
BARB HOVARD; Would like to rate her better but think she has thrown in the towel as she realizes she doesn`t stand a chance from when she lost the deputy mayor job which should have automatically been hers. Nice lady who deserves better than 20%
LES MUCKAN; 75% for effort and seems to have some common sense and will stand up for what he believes in.

MICK KRUGER; 20% and could be called the mirror man as he is always going to look into it . Will turn up and listen and promise but from personal issues he does not keep his word.

Sorry I have been so long winded but I strongly believe that this council has done nothing towards development especially in Maryborough and the region will continue to go backwards with their present attitude. patwar1

My score for the Fraser Coast Regional Councillors.
Kruger. 0% Will not act in a positive fashio on Airports
McNeven. 0%
Harris. 0%
G. O'connell. 75% Has the ideas and motivation but not the support from the rest of the rat-pack.
Brooks. 10%
Dalgleish. 30% Needs more ticker to confront the rest of the No-Hopers
Nioa. 0%
Arthur. and Hovard. Look .....we need a progressive council. More geo friendly Building Projects. More Shopping Malls. More Industry abd Business. And for hecks sake development at Maryborough espically the Airport.
Muckan. No vote from me!

This council is useless and appears to be over-ruled By King and Brien. case of Tail wagging Dog I think.

Kruger has one last chance. Sack the Administrative dead-wood!!

Scorecard:
Kruger - 50%, He's on the job about half of what he should be. Needs to be leading not following the complaints about his Admininistration.
McNeven - 40% Fails her own portfolio and makes an appearance for photo shoots only. Her fawning over K Rudd was embarassing and ensured he wont be back
Arthur - 50% Julie who?
Brooks - 25% if its not green it doesn't count.
Dalgleish - 70% Tries hard but needs to stand up to Executive staff. Nice rework of airport strategy by State Government for Torbanlea.
Hawes - 50% Deserted Woocoo for the Bay, makes a lot of appearances but won't make a decision.
Hovard - 80%, always trying and one of the few who can act for the whole region. At least she provides some leadership and common sense.
Nioa - 70% works hard for tourism and is regionally focused but those entrance statements?
O'Connell - 80% Puts in an enormous effort and gets no support. Needs to step out of the shadows and stand up to some of the Executives who fail this Council.

Missed two
Harris - 60% Tries hard but out of her depth with the amalgamation result.
Muckan - 70% Needs to focus on representing all people not just indigenous Australians. He is the only one that got the answer right. The community will judge.
Amazing how Councillors who were so against amlagamation, forgot that to get elected, and now use it as an excuse for their failure to act as a cohesive force! Any wonder the Executive run FCRC and don't have to face the electorate.

Kruger: 10%. What a let-down. Failed badly in not sacking King - now part of the fan club. Step up or get out.
Macneven: -200%. Career no-hoper and serious embarrassment to the city. Please go away.
Harris: Who?
Hawes: -10%. Also part of the King fan club.
Dalgleish: 100% for effort and has a business head.
Muckan: 70%. Tries, but not sharp enough to play politics.
Hovard: 60%. Badly shafted by Mick. What a pity. Would have been a great Mayor.
Brooks: 50% for effort - sadly all misguided. Overall: -10%
Nioa: 90%. Hard working, business head and very pleasant. Fails in not tackling the King problem like all of them.
O'Connell. Ditto
Arthur: Who?

Linda Harris-Seems to try hard to achieve things. Get the impression that she is quite respected by people in Tiaro area. 80%

Gerard O'Connell-Lost my respect for him when he was elected and didn’t give up his second paid job. All the councillors said that if they were successfully elected, they would give up their current paid job so as to devote their whole time to being a full time councillor. I don’t like greedy people. He always seems to have his picture in the paper for something someone else has already said or done. 5%

Sue Brooks-Who’s Sue Brooks. Hardly ever see her in the paper for doing anything for the ratepayers. People seem to lose their zest after they get successfully elected. 5.5%

David Dalgleish-I will give him an A for effort. Has helped several ratepayers around the area with their problems. A familiar face in the local paper. A man who actually gets things done. 90%

Belinda McNeven-In love big time, with her own appearance. In Kevin Rudd’s breathing space she sat so close to him on his visit in 2009. Does little or nothing for anyone on the Fraser Coast. 4%

Anne Nioa-On her talk before the elections, all she wanted to talk about was her overseas holidays. The Pub Crawl, if you like that, is the only thing I associate her name with. 4%

Julie Arthur-I have great respect for Julie. She has been Deputy Mayor and handled that well. With her family grown up, she has the time to go out and do things for this community and I think she works hard for the ratepayers and when she says things, I think she’s speaking the truth. 95%

Debbie Hawes-When I saw her in the paper just after the local elections, wineing and dining I thought, is this person going to get their hands dirty or are they going to use this position to up their social life. Doesn’t seem to do much. 5%

Barb Hovard-Did a fair job as Mayor but wasted a lot of ratepayers money eg. Portside. Free b-b-q’s there and tables and chairs but still no public toilet facilities so area is not utilised. A lot of thought needs to go into the spending of ratepayers hard earned money. 20%

Les Muckan-Someone who hasn’t sat back on his backside since being elected. Can take criticism in the paper and not spit the dummy. At least he’s out there working for his pay packet and new car. He says things as they are and also doesn’t forget that the ratepayers are the ones who are paying him. 85.5%

The councillors,even if they were a team are no match for a powerful Council bureacrocracy who do anything to avoid risking their necks. Consequently, most councillors are ineffectual.
Harris 30%
O Connell 40%
Brooks 25%
Dalgleish 60%
Mc Neven 10%
Nioa 40%
Arthur 30%
Hawes 20%
Hovard 40%
Muckan 50%
Kruger 10%
Kruger has been the biggest disappointment. Had he been prepared to crack the whip on some of his staff he might have achieved something.

Kruger, McNeven, Hawes, Brooks all 10% and that is being generous. Will hopefully all fall at the next election.
Hovard, Harris, and Arthur 30% but totally ignored by above 'clowns' and FCRC heads of departments. Not strong enough for the task at hand
Nioa and O'Connell 60% trying hard but once again let down by Kruger and Council. Deserve another go.
Muckan and Dalgleish 75% Trying hard to do the right thing and are mostly in touch with the community. Deserve another go. Hopefully they will instigate (with new councillors) a revamp of council heads of departments. All positions must be declared 'vacant' and everyone must reapply for their positions with the positions available to outside applicants as well.

Councillors O'connell,Nioa,Dalgleish and Mucan are doing a good job,these are the only people I would vote for again.

Where do I start??

Kruger - very one sided for Hervey Bay, dont forget part of the community that votes is out of hervey bay. Is not positive proactive person, states he will do so much but never follows through. He needs to fix the building and development issues for businesses in the district, he is killing new business, go away and ruin someone else's town 1%

Mc Neven - Has'nt been seen to do one thing for locals, just further her political career and suck up to K Rudd, grow up and do some positive work on your image 5%

O'Connell - how can he work two full time jobs (councillor & buisness manager St Mary's college) and give both important jobs the time it needs, if he does must be fatigued from working 16 hours a day , stop ripping off the community and do one job properly, get rid of him quick 0%

Harris - rarely seen - retire and let more enthusiatic people in there 2%

Brooks - dont know who this person is - O'Connell is always in the paper, maybe the chronicle should put something in about this person to highlight his/her image 0%

Dalgleish - seems to be doing okay but pales into insignificance to O'Connell who is the publicity guru 55%

Nioa - is doing things for tourism in the district but hear she hardly attends meetings as she lives in Brisbane??? 45%

Arthur - What has she done 5%

Hovard - shafted by Krugar for deputy mayor position, experienced well liked councillor, has done lots of positive things for community, gives up lots of her own time to attend local functions, Kruger should take some lessons from her if he thinks he might attempt to run for Mayor again 95%

Muckan - seems to be trying, stands up for his beliefs
80%

My score for the FCRC
Mick Kruger. 0%. Hopeless, promises to act but fails miserably. Turns up for photo opportunities and is gone as soon as the photo is taken. Rarely seen in Maryborough and needs incentive to travel home at night after a meeting. He needs to take some lessons from Barb Hovard as to how a Mayor can be effective and represent the whole area. He needs to move over and let a responsible person be Mayor.
Linda Harris. 30% . She dies understand the rural areas.
Gerard O'Connell. 40%. He must be worn out with a paid job, being a councillor and a family man. Would be very effective if he concentrated on being a councillor full time.
Sue Brooks. 10%. Depends if is green before she can relate to it.
David Dalglish. 70%. Gets an A for effort and being interested in the community
Belinda McNeven. 10%. Only interested in getting her photo in the paper or on the news. Is using the council as a springboard to launch herself into politics. Should never have been given the Deputy Mayor position as she lacks the grace and knowledge to perform well.
Anne Nioa. 75%. Is enthusiastic about promoting the whole area.
Julie Arthur 30%. Was once enthusiastic but now seems to lack lustre
Debbie Hawes. 30%. Started out with a bang but lost her mission along the way
Barb Hovard 100%. What a pity Barb was not given the honour of being the Deputy Mayor as she did poll the most votes in the election and had valuable experience as the past Mayor of Maryborough. Perhaps her popularity and knowledge was a threat to Mick. Barb works hard behind the scenes and is not given the credit she deserves by Mick. She attends many events in the area, and is not afraid to travel to all parts of the region.
Les Muckan. 70% and an A for effort. Les is interested in listening and trying to solve the problem. He makes a good combination with David Dalglish.

Here is the height of personal vanity. To raye your self 100%??????
There is not one of them worth the money they are being paid and they , with their ineptude are stifiling and crippling the development of the area and returning nothing to the rate payers. Get out and go the lot of you and hopefully you will all return the wages and expenses and bebefitsyou have been paid unearned.

Scorecard:

Linda Harris: 62%
Gerard O'Connell 64%
Sue Brooks 58%
David Dalgleish 72%
Belinda McNeven: 46%
Anne Nioa: 66%
Julie Arthur: 62%
Debbie Hawes 56%
Barb Hovard: 78%
Les MucKan: 72%
Mick Kruger 52%

Kruger has a ridiculously high opinion of himself. 100%??? More like 0 for effort, 0 for thinking of the outlying areas, and 0 for spending an obscene amount of money on a water park when there's kilometre upon kilometre of beaches.
Barb Hovard - 90%. Seriously snubbed when overlooked for dep mayor position. Should have been hers with no competition.
McNevin - worse than useless. - 10
The rest of them are all as bad as each other, with the exceptions of Les MucKan and David Dalgleish. MucKan has the guts to say what he believes and the intelligence to understand that we, the ratepayers, are the only ones who can realistically say who is doing well and who should be sacked. 95%
Dalgleish - 60%. Needs to be more aggressive.

Mark the council, well why bother they wont listen unless I submit the correct application form and pay the highest fee's in Oz for the privelege.

All fail !!!!! 0%

I notice in Micks article about wanting to change things and talking tough about it, he mentions that people tell him to ignore that paper!!!!

Well apart from wanting to called these people fools!!!! Is it so hard to realise that the media is a weapon, harness it and you will do well, disrespect it and it will destroy you, guess what? Look at the responses below and you can see what mistake you have made, we only hear bad things so our opinion is formed based on this, ie the council is useless!!!!

Maybe if you perform and do good things and these are reported people might think different, or maybe not!!!!

but you have to DO something good first!!!! maybe start with boundary road, if you hadn't noticed it is a mess, mostly because of all the development along side it, growing population, more traffic etc, pity someone didnt PLAN to upgrade the infastructure to support this growth!!!

I'll be the first to put my real name to my comments and I welcome any of the councilors who disagree with my thoughts to drop me a line. In no particular order here are my thoughts:

Linda Harris: (B) Tries hard to work for the outer communities but lacks effectiveness when dealing with the others in the team.

Gerard O'Connell (B-) Means well but has his fingers in far too many committee pies to to be really effective. Remains to be seen if his motives are about building a better community or launching himself into bigger political stages.

Sue Brooks (A) Sue works effectively, actively communicates with the community via the media when appropriate but also very effective in elaborating further on her thoughts through her blog. Sue has also stuck with the platform on which she was elected and this is commendable.

David Dalgleish (A) As much as I dislike to say it, David is one of the more interested councilors even if his efforts are poorly directed at times. David means well and his liking for throwing the odd curve ball into a meeting is probably not a bad thing.

Belinda McNeven: (A-) Belinda is a career politician, a 'practitioner' of the art form of public office. One I do not know much about, what I have seen of her in action is someone who tries hard to do a good job.

Anne Nioa: (B) Anne has big ideas and has made some good inroads in to getting the community excited about what it is especially projects such as the Portside precinct and billboard advertising campaigns.

Julie Arthur: (D) Been around forever but no one really knows what she has achieved. Given that fact, she has scored the lowest here.

Debbie Hawes (C) Debbie is probably the most out of depth of all councilors lacking experience and ambition.

Barb Hovard: (B) Barb was very effective as mayor of MCC but being overlooked for the younger Cr McNeven for deputy mayor was disappointing. Barb is probably one of the quiet achievers, not out to blow her own horn or chasing a higher posting and probably one of the better ones here.

Les MucKan: C Les could do much better if he broke out of the shadow of his mate David. Les has signaled an intention to go higher and this will backfire on him come next council election if he stands as I feel he has not proven himself yet
.
Mick Kruger (B) Could do better especially improving his people skills at functions. Probably lacking the leadership skills to get any real effectiveness from his councilors

I cannot think of a more difficult task than that of a Councillor/Mayor position in a newly amalgamated council. Of course there are going to be “teething” problems which, to my belief, have been overcome by our current Councillors, some more than others. The Councillors from the Hervey Bay area appear to have shown an active interest in the entire area and do not have any parochialism that I have seen, shame that can’t be said for some of the others. It would be difficult to see “outside the square” when you have only, in the past, had to keep an eye on your own back yard but what we all must do is see the whole picture and what is good for all of us. It’s time Maryborough widened their horizons and saw Hervey Bay and surrounding areas as part of their team, not the enemy.

Standing up for green issues!
Sue Brooks might NOT be in the paper every 5 minutes having her picture taken cavorting with the publications on how bigger profile she build, which i find refreshing! Doesnt that mean she is doing her job! rather than out and about drinking eating and reading off a scripted paper that are meaningless words !
She cares about the environment ! good great! if there are no guardians of Hervey Bay it will turn into a Gold Coast metropolis! with all the bad people that go with it. All the rest are just out for themselves how much money they think they can bring into the area! So whos great idea was the parking at the airport charge and barrier that then nearly killed the poor coffee shop owners! Are there any decent people on the council at all??? apart from Sue!

It is interesting to read the comments from the vocal few who have taken the time to respond. It would be interesting to know how many know anything about a councillors role or how the individual councillors really perform, apart from what is reported in the media. Not all are continually in the spotlight, but they are not necessarily doing nothing. Many are going about their duties quietly and doing what they are paid for, that is represent all sectors of the community. If the measure of perfomance is how many times you can be in the paper or on TV it is pretty sad. Maybe if the correspondents attended the odd council meeting or studied the meeting minutes they would see a different side to many of our elected representatives. Perhaps, also if the Chronicle put as much effort into reporting council meetings as they do into portraying the court activities of this apparently lawless region we may be surprised and understand our council a little better. Not everything council does is bad and none of the councillors are perfect, but obviously good news doesn't make a sensational headline story. Many of the councillors spend their time for the benefit of the community in ways which are not considered important enough to make the papers or news, but to the people they help they are valued. So don't always judge their performance by the superficial reports of the media, or the ratings of the serial whingers and newspaper letter writers. As an example at the last council meeting one of the higher rated councillors, Cr Muckan was listed in the report on conference attendance as having had $1331paid for registration at a crimewatch conference. Given the high crime rate as reported in the Chronicle, it is surprising that he did not attend and therefore wasted ratepayers money. I hope had had a very good reason for not going and didn't forget or just couldn't be bothered.

Quite frankly, the only Councillor that puts in 100% is David Dalglish. He is always available to deal with the smallest problems or the biggest.

What makes you think Anne Nioa lives in Brisbane. She has never lived other than in Maryborough. I believ she rarely misses any meetings

They all get 0.