Keeping secrets from voters was never an option for Michael Kerr when he considered launching his ultimately successful campaign to become mayor of Douglas Shire.

With counting in the Queensland local government election now entering its final hours after polls officially closed on March 28, Kerr will join a new incoming cohort of first-time mayors likely to number 30-strong on the latest predictions.

Not that Kerr is a stranger to his district. A councillor since 2016, Kerr first moved to the region north of Cairns from Melbourne in 2002, working in the hospitality trade and building his profile in local community theatre.

These days he and his husband, Jason, who he married last year, run two hairdressing salons.

A busy schedule doesn’t leave much time for reflection, but Kerr said he was aware of the significance of his election.

“I’ve been told that I’m actually the first mayor of Douglas to have come from Port Douglas – all the others have lived in Mossman – so I guess I’ve made history twice,” Kerr said.

“The one thing I’ve been campaigning on is honesty and transparency. Both my husband and I are very well known around town and have been for many years so there was never any point in hiding my sexuality or who I am.

“But my view is that like any relationship you don’t need to flaunt it in front of people’s faces. People here know me, they know Jason and that’s really the end of it – we’re just another couple who live down the road on the corner.

“You know you hear all this stuff about redneck Queensland, in my experience this couldn’t be further from the truth. We have a very diverse council and a very accepting community that’s positive about making a difference.”

Voters in Douglas Shire, who live in the tropical tourist hot-spot encompassing the world-famous, natural heritage listed Daintree Rainforest, decided they would make an emphatic change this election, ousting two-term mayor Julia Leu with only 45 per cent of the vote in a two-candidate race.

One month before the polls opened, The Cairns Post reported a questionable purchase of land in the Daintree for Douglas Shire Council’s carbon offset initiatives, forcing Leu to fend off allegations of misconduct.

Kerr said he was not intimidated by the new State Government standards for local government representatives drafted in the wake of several high-profile corruption scandals within some Queensland councils.

He said he believed his own journey living as an openly proud gay man would bring authenticity to his leadership and align the next Douglas Shire council with the kind of transparency and accountability corruption watchdogs and the community expected.

“Be honest and transparent and people will see you for who you are,” he said.

“It’s when you’re trying to be someone that you’re not that people will pick up on this and make an assessment that there’s something not quite right about you, or something that they can’t trust.”

Despite a strong belief that local government needs to focus on delivering the basics, Kerr’s immediate priorities are very much global concerns, ushering his community through the coronavirus pandemic and trying to provide some employment opportunities for those impacted by the economic downturn.

“Local government needs to come back to its roots of being dedicated to local needs and issues,” he said.

“I know that local councils are being forced to do more at the request of the State Government but they really will deliver more if they can just focus on representing their local communities. They don’t need to save the world.

“We have a need to rejuvenate our parks and gardens and streetscapes.  I’d like to explore if we have opportunities to provide some work in this area, keeping in mind social distance perimeters.”

Latest poll update

Heightened fears of community coronavirus transmission caused lower voter turnouts on polling day last month, leading to a massive increase of postal votes. Waiting for those ballots in the mail has delayed many results across the state.

While councils like Douglas have been decided, the Electoral Commission of Queensland has indicated the full picture of who has won and lost will not be known until after the Easter long weekend.

The close battle for the mayoralty of Livingstone near Rockhampton has now been declared a win for challenger Andy Ireland, who has unseated well-known veteran Bill Ludwig.

Noosa remains the tightest contest in the state, where incumbent mayor Tony Wellington is struggling to hold his position against Clare Stewart who has edged ahead. The latest tally, with 75 per cent of the ballot counted, has only 65 votes separating the pair.