Joanne Keune working for a better future for division 1
Why I’m Standing for Division 1
For 35 years, I’ve been proud to call Bluewater home. I live here, I work here, and just like you, I experience the challenges that come with living in one of Townsville’s growing and diverse communities.
I’m standing for Council because I believe Division 1 deserves a strong, independent voice, someone who will listen, speak up and work hard to get things done.
My priorities are
Basic infrastructure
We need to get the basics right: safer roads, proper road shoulders, footpaths and effective drainage and guttering.
A Master Plan for our Community Halls
Our halls should be the heart of our communities. I want to see a rotating program of live music, youth activities, adult craft workshops and community events, giving people a reason to come together.
Better public transport
Access to reliable public transport should not depend on where you live. Our remote and rural communities deserve a service that connects them to Townsville and the services they need.
Protecting our environment
Erosion, creek and river maintenance and the environmental challenges facing our remote communities need proper attention: not to be forgotten until there is a crisis.
Listening to all 22 communities
Division 1 is made up of 22 very different communities, each with its own needs. I want to be a Councillor who listens to all of them and makes sure their voices are heard.
Fighting for our fair share
Council cannot do everything alone. I will actively lobby State and Federal Governments and work to identify and secure grants and funding for the roads, facilities, community projects and infrastructure our area needs.
After 35 years in Bluewater, I know how much our communities have to offer. I want to put my experience, energy and determination to work for you.
I’m asking for your support to be your Division 1 Councillor, and I promise to listen, to advocate and to work hard for our communities.
This is a postal vote. Only 40 % of the vote is counted. Residents are contacting me, confused “is it too late to post it”? Put your ballot in the mail ! It can be received by the 29th Sept by post or drop it off in person at the Electoral Office next to Chemist at Coles, Deeragun. POST YOUR VOTE PLEASE !
Had a great morning this morning with the Tidy Townsville group and the Ozfish group. I’m generally picking up litter solo - it was a lovely group of people to work alongside. Friendly and welcoming- I encourage everyone to pop in and join them when you can. We estimate we collected more than 8000 butts! Shane you smokers who drop them !! Leave no trace !!!
Only 8,200 votes have been received - thats just 50% ! So if your ballot is sitting on the kitchen bench make sure that you fill it in now 1. detach the yellow form and put it in the envelope. 2. make sure that form is signed via a witness. 3. do not write anything else on the ballot paper any scribbling makes it an informal vote. If you haven’t received your ballot or are concerned about voting come to the electoral office at Coles Deeragun around the corner next to the chemist. Or call 1300 881 665 You can deliver your postal vote to that office. Remember you’ve got 10 days to get it into the mail. Folks if you want action in division one if you want to see a thriving Community and your pothole fixed and developed community centres - and public transport - Vote 1- Joanne Keune.
Top Art Exhibition - by the well proven Townsville Art Society for their 71st Award night. Truly it was a magnificent art exhibition of sculpture and paintings charcoal drawings silk work - and ceramics downstairs. Frankly there were five pieces I wanted to buy. I came home with these three thank goodness I got stuck on the little creatures exhibit before I moved to the big walls. Not exactly what I should be spending my money on however the artwork is so amazing and so quite frankly “cheap” I encourage every person reading this who’s from Townsville, who wants an artwork representing our place, to go and check out the Perc Tucker Townsville Art Society awards exhibition on now. ( it’s free to look !!) if I had remembered to take my phone, I would’ve taken a lot more photos. I took these when I got home. Exhibition it could move to the Alice River or Bluewater Community Hall after this …. 😁😁 Why not ? Just saying …. 😁🌈
VOTE NOW JoanneKeune for Division 1 - if you want experienced action. You have until Sat.. 19 th Sept. for your ballot to be completed and witnessed. Then it must reach the electoral office by the 29 th Sept. for no fine to be incurred. If you have not received your ballot then the best idea is to phone the electoral office on on : 1300 881 665 to check that you are on the role or have your ballot sorted out .
TOOLAKEA NEEDS A CLEAR SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PLAN Toolakea residents deserve more than short-term responses to each erosion event. They deserve a transparent, evidence-based plan for the long-term management of their shoreline. If elected as your Division 1 councillor, I will advocate for: • the timely completion and public release of Toolakea’s Shoreline Erosion Management Plan; • genuine consultation with residents before long-term decisions are made; • clear information about the purpose, cost and timetable of current and proposed works; • public reporting on whether those works are achieving their objectives; and • qualified assessment of the available options and their environmental and downstream consequences. I will not pretend there is a simple engineering answer. My commitment is to ensure residents are heard, the evidence is visible and Council clearly explains the decisions being made. Vote 1 - Joanne Keune for Division 1.
TOOLAKEA RESIDENTS DESERVE ANSWERS AND A CLEAR PLAN Toolakea’s Shoreline Erosion Management Plan is still being prepared. While that work continues, residents are entitled to know what is guiding the current sand works, what those works are intended to achieve and when the community will have its say. I recently met with Toolakea residents and heard their concerns about continuing erosion, changes along the beach and the long-term management of their foreshore. Residents have raised specific concerns about repeated sand movement, steep sand banks close to homes, changes around the lagoon and beach mouth, and whether machinery works are being appropriately timed around tidal conditions. Some residents believe the works may be contributing to worsening conditions and have asked whether groynes or other stabilisation options should be considered. These observations should not be treated as settled engineering conclusions, but they deserve to be formally investigated and publicly answered through Toolakea’s Shoreline Erosion Management Plan. Council’s reporting records a Toolakea renourishment program as completed between October and December 2025. Council has since announced more than $4 million in rehabilitation funding across six coastal locations, with new works expected to begin at Toolakea later in 2026, while Toolakea’s Shoreline Erosion Management Plan is still being prepared. Residents deserve to understand how these pieces fit together. I am asking Council to clearly explain: • what work was completed in 2025 and what it was intended to achieve; • the scope, timetable and purpose of the upcoming works; • how much of the shared funding has been allocated to Toolakea; • what evidence is guiding the interim work and how its effectiveness will be monitored; • whether the observed changes around the lagoon and beach mouth are connected to the works, natural coastal processes or a combination of both; • what long-term options, including groynes and other possible responses, have been assessed, and why particular options have been accepted or rejected; and • when residents will be consulted on the Shoreline Erosion Management Plan. I am not prescribing groynes, seawalls or any other particular engineering response. Those options must be assessed by qualified experts, with the environmental and downstream consequences properly considered. Long-term residents bring important local knowledge from decades of watching the shoreline, tides and sand movement. That knowledge should form part of the consultation and evidence-gathering process. My position is simple: residents must be included, the evidence must be visible and public expenditure must come with clear objectives and accountability. Toolakea residents should not have to piece the story together from separate reports and announcements. They deserve answers, meaningful consultation and a transparent pathway forward.
Division 1 deserves a strong, independent voice that listens to residents, understands our communities and puts practical solutions first. When you cast your vote, Vote 1 Joanne Keune for Division 1. Your community. Your voice. Your independent representative. #JoanneKeune #Vote1 #Division1 #IndependentVoice
CONNECTED COMMUNITY CENTRES The idea grew from concerns raised before the by-election about community access to the Bluewater Community Centre. That local issue highlighted a wider opportunity across Division 1. Division 1 encompasses 22 distinct suburbs and localities across a vast geographical area. Residents should not have to travel long distances simply to participate in community life. Joanne’s proposal would explore a coordinated network across six community locations, with activities rotating according to local interest, capacity and need. Live music. Children’s activities. Adult craft. Woodwork. Community programs designed with, and for, the people who live here. If elected, Joanne would advocate for eligible State and Federal grant funding for a professional coordinator who could operate through an established community organisation and help participating centres develop and deliver the program. Any arrangement would be subject to consultation, agreement and successful funding. The proposal would support the volunteers and organisations already serving these communities while creating more opportunities for residents to participate. What activities would you like to see offered in your community? Stronger people. Brighter places. One connected Division 1. Vote 1 - Joanne Keune - Division 1