Wednesday evening, the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DILGP) facilitated an information session at Douglas Shire Council chambers entitled “So You Want To Be A Councillor”, in preparation for local government elections, with only one interested attendee.

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The session was intended for individuals who are thinking about nominating for the position of councillor or mayor in the upcoming  local government election which will be held on Saturday, 19 March 2016.

The aim of the information session was to give prospective candidates an insight into the roles and responsibilities of councillors and offer them the opportunity to make informed decisions on whether to nominate for election.

Given that the call or nominations from prospective candidates is still some time away, 6th February 2016, this may have been the reason why the Douglas Shire session had only one interested attendee.

Cr Abigail Noli briefly attended the session and also felt that perhaps at this stage it is too early, for those thinking of running for council, to make it public knowledge.

“I am sorry more people didn't turn up. Being a councillor is a very rewarding job and I believe and know there are people out there that would be excellent. I would definitely encourage people to consider the position,” said Cr Noli.

Douglas Shire Council does not have anything to do with the information sessions other than to provide the venue and promote it which they did via Facebook, their website and alerting the media.

The local government elections are run by a returning officer. The returning officer is responsible for the proper conduct of an election. The Electoral Commission of Queensland will appoint a returning officer for each local government election.

Mayor Julia Leu also briefly attended last night’s information session however does not wish to comment on anything election-related as her focus is currently on the delivery of Council programs and services.