Matt Burnett
Matthew James Burnett (born c.1975) is an Australian politician and the mayor of Gladstone Region in Queensland, Australia.[1]
Early life
Born in Gladstone, Queensland, Burnett attended Toolooa State High School and worked a variety of jobs including at KFC, Mobil and Queensland Rail.[2]
Burnett is a qualified journalist.[1] At the age of 18, Burnett established a local community newspaper called The Port Curtis Post in 1993 which was later sold to Australian Provincial Newspapers and retitled The Community Advocate in 2010.[2][3]
Local government
He was elected as a councillor to Gladstone City Council in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.[2] In 2008, Burnett was elected to the new Gladstone Regional Council which was established when Gladstone City Council amalgamated with the Miriam Vale and Calliope shires.[2]
In 2010, Burnett was elevated to the position of deputy mayor in a vote at a special council meeting where Gail Sellers was officially sworn in as mayor following the resignation of the Gladstone Region's first mayor George Creed.[4] Burnett narrowly beat fellow councillor Craig Butler four votes to three for the position of deputy mayor.[4]
Burnett served as deputy mayor until 2016 when he successfully ran against Sellers in the 2016 Gladstone Region mayoral election, becoming the third mayor of the region after Creed and Sellers.[5][6] He was elected with 59% of the first preference vote, beating Sellers and Michelle Wagner.[7]
He was re-elected at the 2020 mayoral election with 73.46% of the official first preference vote, beating his only opponent Michael Fearns.[8]
Federal politics
Throughout his local government career, Burnett has been open about his affiliation with the Australian Labor Party and has assisted state and federal Labor candidates, such as Susan Lamb and Glenn Butcher, in their electoral campaigns.[9][10]
In August 2015, Burnett considered an attempt at pre-selection to be the Labor candidate to run against sitting Nationals MP Ken O'Dowd in the seat of Division of Flynn at the 2016 Australian federal election.[11] Burnett said he did not intend to run in the Gladstone mayoral election but was contemplating running for Flynn.[11] However, less than a month later Burnett stated he would not be running for Flynn citing family reasons.[12]
Though O'Dowd announced he would be retiring at the next federal election, Burnett again stated in November 2020 that he was not interested in running for Flynn despite having been asked to do so by the party repeatedly, affirming his commitment to his role as mayor.[13] Despite this, Labor leader Anthony Albanese announced in April 2021 that Burnett would indeed be their candidate for the seat of Flynn at the next Australian federal election.[14][15]
It was revealed in July 2021 that the LNP had preselected sitting state MP for Callide, Colin Boyce to run against Burnett in Flynn.[16] At least one by-election will be triggered as Boyce is required to resign from his position as state MP to contest the federal election, whereas a mayoral by-election in the Gladstone Region will only be necessary if Burnett is successful.[17]
The impending battle between Boyce and Burnett in Flynn has evoked the interest of political analysts.[14][18]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Mayor and Councillor profiles: Matt Burnett". Gladstone Regional Council. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Burnett, Matt (21 April 2012). "Matt Burnett: council nominee". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ "New community newspaper launch". The Observer. News Corp Australia. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Sellers sworn in as Gladstone Mayor". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Spelitis, Helen (5 January 2016). "Burnett announces he will be running for Mayor in March". The Observer. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Cooley, Declan (19 March 2016). "Mayor Gail Sellers 'hurt and disappointed'". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ "2016 Gladstone Regional Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Queensland Government. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ "2020 Local Government Elections: Gladstone Regional Mayor". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Queensland Government. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Harris, Matthew (1 August 2018). "Mayor roasted over ties to Labor Lamb". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Stevens, Rodney (24 October 2020). "Gladstone councillors show their allegiances at early voting". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Spelitis, Helen (27 August 2015). "Deputy mayor set to take tilt at federal seat". The Observer. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Spelitis, Helen (16 September 2015). "Matt Burnett will not stand for Flynn". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Stevens, Rodney (19 November 2020). "Gladstone Mayor approached to run for seat of Flynn". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Jurss-Lewis, Tobias (15 April 2021). "Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett will run for federal seat of Flynn". ABC News. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ McBride, Jacobbe (15 April 2021). "Labor leader endorses Gladstone Mayor as Flynn candidate". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ McBride, Jacobbe (12 July 2021). "Member for Callide Colin Boyce selected to run as Flynn candidate in upcoming Federal election". The Observer. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Jurss-Lewis, Tobias; Culliver, Paul (12 July 2021). "The 'must watch' fight for Flynn, Queensland's federal battleground". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ↑ Hope, Zach (11 July 2021). "'We're the other half of the nation': the precarious art of winning central Queensland hearts and minds". Brisbane Times. Nine Entertainment. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
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