Strong public support for Division 10 councillor, Julia Leu, is still evident following a Cairns Regional Council-funded survey.

The AEC- run survey, conducted between March 17 and May 4 this year at a cost of $30,000 to ratepayers, asked 510 respondents throughout the council’s boundaries a series of questions relating to customer service, communication and engagement methods, standard of amenities and facilities, environmental concerns, lifestyle and demographics.

Respondents were also asked to identify and rate the performance of their Councillor, the results of which were published by The Cairns Post on Tuesday.

Cr Leu received 28 per cent support from voters being extremely satisfied with her performance – second highest of all CRC councillors voted on.

Only three per cent of voters polled said they were extremely dissatisfied with Cr Leu’s performance, the lowest of all councillors.

Overall, Cr Leu was the highest rated councillor, along with Division 3 Cr Rob Pyne (who represents the Whiterock, Mt Sheridan and Woree areas) showing similar results.

And with local government elections due to be held in March next year, public support  still looks strong for Cr Leu’s re-election as representative of the council’s largest division, an area that covers 2445 square kilometres between Clifton Beach and Wujal Wujal, including the area’s islands.

“It’s nice to have some positive feedback, but it’s still eight months out to the election and there are lot of issues around the area that need to be attended to,” Cr Leu said.

Cr Leu said that while she was pleased with her result, it was important to continue to address the issues affecting the whole community.

The survey also noted that more than half of respondents viewed the natural environment as being “very important”, with a further 35 per cent labelling it “important”.

In terms of basic services and infrastructure, respondents rated Council’s maintenance of sewer services, water pressure, waste collection and drinking water quality highly across the 10 divisions.

At the other end of the spectrum, the standard of road surfaces, footpaths, kerbing and guttering needed further attention, according to respondents.

Cairns Regional Council CEO, Lyn Russell, said the survey provided important feedback that would allow Council to improve its services, but did not comment on the results on the performance of the councillors.

According to the Cairns Post, Cr Leu said she was happy with her results and didn’t have a problem with the results being made public.

It is expected that the survey will be repeated every 18 months to two years.