Independent to challenge mayor

Peter Luxton will run for Ipswich mayor as an independent next year.

Rob Williams

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HE'S fought to be Ipswich mayor once before and lost out, but this time Peter Luxton believes he is wiser, more experienced and ready to go for a second round.

Mr Luxton, 48, has confirmed he will run again at next year's council election.

So far incumbent Mayor Paul Pisasale is the only other candidate who has indicated they will run for the council's top spot in 2012, The Queensland Times understands.

The pair went head-to-head in 2008, with Cr Pisasale claiming a massive 79.25% of the vote, with Mr Luxton, then running as a Greens candidate, securing just under 11%.

Despite the last result, Mr Luxton said he is now more experienced and ready for a return to the polls as an independent candidate.

“It was all a steep learning curve,” Mr Luxton said of the last election.

“I didn't really want to run, but people have come to me saying they wished I would run and would like me to run against Pisasale because they've had enough of him.”

He said one of the biggest issues that convinced him to run was the issue of development.

Mr Luxton said he was not against development but said it should be better managed than it currently is.

“It's the same issues as last time only this time we're four years on,” he said.

“For me personally, the style of development is very carbon-intensive. The style of development we're getting in Ipswich is not helping greenhouse gas emissions.

“Cities in the first world are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, and this is why – because you have these huge pockets of housing and no public transport.”

Mr Luxton also slammed the council's recent rates increase, saying that recovering from floods was no excuse.

He said people were struggling with the cost of living already and that council should have set money aside for such disasters.

The Redbank Plains resident of about 16 years said there was one big difference between himself and Cr Pisasale.

“The thing I would point out is that I would sing from a different song sheet because the mayor we have at the moment is singing from the developer's song sheet,”

“The people that have come to me are sick of the all the endless PR drive and all the media stunts he pulls.”

Cr Pisasale said “development was the top of the food chain” and was vital for the city's economy.

“That's why the city is now getting the respect it deserves.”

He said having candidates like Mr Luxton come on board was important for democracy and he looked forward to debating important issues on the campaign trail.

But he said being mayor was a tough job and that being a councillor first was the ideal apprenticeship for the position.