12:00a.m. 15th December 2007

| By Carolyn Tucker

Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot was staying tight-lipped yesterday, but he is widely expected to announce next week that he will stand for the top job on the new Sunshine Coast super-council.

It’s got to be the worst-kept secret in town.

The Sunshine Coast is abuzz with talk that Noosa Mayor Bob Abbot is about to throw his hat in the ring for the super-council’s top job and will make a formal announcement next week.

The man of the moment is playing his cards close to his chest, but he is expected to confirm the speculation on Monday.

Bob Abbot was saying little yesterday, allowing only a single sentence to slip before sealing his lips on the subject.

“I’m not going to admit to anything until next week,” he told the Daily from Brisbane.

Mr Abbot’s likely entry into the race was welcomed by several residents’ groups and others across the Coast – most of whom had heard the rumours.

Spokesman for the Friends of Noosa, Bob Ansett, said they would not regard his candidacy as a betrayal of the anti-amalgamation movement, and he would prefer to see a familiar face in the job.

“If Bob Abbot believed he could exercise, as mayor of the regional council, the necessary strength to ensure Noosa is kept as it is, then obviously that would be a good thing,” Mr Ansett said.

“We believe it would be far better having someone we know than someone we don’t, but we do not see it as our role to actively support any individual’s campaign.”

President of the Noosa Shire Residents and Ratepayers’ Association Michael Taylor expressed a similar view, and said the Sunshine Coast could do a lot worse.

“I have heard the rumours and I wouldn’t see it as Bob deserting Noosa’s campaign to stand alone,” Mr Taylor said.

‘Obviously we are strongly opposed to amalgamation but we have to recognise the reality that it might happen.

“I can’t commit the ratepayers’ association to supporting any candidate but I hold him in pretty high regard. We’ve had a good relationship with Bob and he has generally done a good job for Noosa.”

A new umbrella group recently formed to represent residents’ groups across the Coast said it was planning to throw its weight behind particular candidates after nominations close in February and it was highly likely it would back Bob Abbot for mayor.

Secretary and president of the Organisation of Sunshine Coast Association of Residents (OSCAR) Peter Bryant said they would consider the merits of all the candidates, but he couldn’t think of a better person to represent the Coast as head of its first regional council.

“I am strongly confident that Bob would have our whole-hearted backing,” Mr Bryant said.

“We would be looking for someone who is committed to open government, which Caloundra and Maroochy pay lip service to, but don’t do.

“We want someone who will stand independent of developers and not accept their finances other than to pay for infrastructure.

“Someone with a proven track record and who is not prepared to be pushed around, and on all of those counts, Bob scores 10 out of 10.”

President of Commerce Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and Hinterland Regional Council Ross Ulmann said it was important to move forward with a leader who was willing to bring the region together.

“We cannot lose this opportunity. We need to look at how to make this work rather than how to unwind it and we need candidates who have that in mind.

“That might be a slightly bigger challenge for Bob than others but I am sure he can rise to it.”

Mr Ulmann said his organisation would not be entering the political fray and supporting individual candidates.

Sunshine Coast Environment Council coordinator Keryn Jones said it would wait for nominations to close before backing anyone for the job, but Mr Abbot was certainly a welcome addition to the field.

“Bob has been part of a council that has shown some innovative and creative thinking which has produced some great outcomes for Noosa, and if that were to be his agenda for the Sunshine Coast, that would be a great thing.

“We believe Bob would have a lot to offer in the position – he’s also possibly one of the few political candidates who seems to understand that unfettered population (growth) is not necessarily desirable.”

Maroochy Mayor Joe Natoli announced his decision to stand for the job a fortnight ago and said he had always expected the Coast’s three mayors to nominate.

Mr Natoli said he was not afraid of competition, and Coast residents deserved to have a choice.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get it right, and I welcome Bob and anyone else who wants to put their hand up,” he said.

“I always thought the Coast’s current mayors would feel confident they could do the job.”

Caloundra’s Mayor, Don Aldous, said he would make up his mind about whether to stand in the next couple of weeks, but his comments yesterday appeared to indicate he was leaning towards retirement at the end of this term.

Mr Aldous laughed off suggestions he was already planning to head off into the sunset in a Winnebago with his wife, but said he would be 61 in February and he had decide whether his health and his family were more important than the job.

“And the decision is getting easier every day,” he said.

Mr Aldous said if he did decide to “bow out gracefully”, he would not be backing one of his Coast counterparts over the other.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said.

“If it was to be a choice between Bob and Joe, I know them both and they’re both good blokes.”