Rob Chandler is set to begin his sixth local government term after a four-year hiatus from the Barcaldine Regional Council.
A well-known face in the Barcaldine community, Cr Chandler lost the 2020 mayoral race to then-councillor Sean Dillon, who has gone on to become the LNP candidate for the state seat of Gregory.
Cr Chandler had earlier had two terms with the Barcaldine Shire Council, one as a councillor and another as mayor, then made the amalgamation transition to serve three terms as Barcaldine Regional Council mayor to 2020.
He said local government was in his blood and he felt it was time to go back into that arena, if the community wanted him.
He defeated councillor and former Aramac Shire Council mayor Gary Peoples by 61 votes when the mayoral poll was declared just before the Easter break.
"I wasn't particularly confident of the outcome but in a small community, a margin of 50 is hard to claw back," he said.
His last four years have been spent working with Professor Ross Garnaut on the Barcaldine Renewable Energy Zone and the Clean Energy Corridor, and he said he thought he would be able to drive those projects further from a council position.
"I think we need to pick up our game with grants and subsidies, and we can be marketed a bit better," he added.
One thing likely to be different is the livestreaming of council meetings, if Cr Chandler's plan to take meetings back to the four small communities of Jericho, Alpha, Aramac and Muttaburra is supported by the new council.
He didn't believe the community got much out of the livestream, brought in as a result of COVID restrictions.
"I'm not sure how many people viewed the stream - we'll have to ask the community," he said, adding that he wanted fellow councillors to get out and about in each of the towns.
Cr Chandler paid tribute to Mr People's 26 years of service in local government.
Further east, in Mackay, where Greg Williamson has reclaimed the mayoralty, former councillor and then federal MP George Christensen has been voted in as one of 10 councillors there.
The controversial political figure ran as part of a Mackay First team led by mayoral candidate Steve 'Jacko' Jackson and has described himself as a 'wokebuster', vowing to cut rates as well as mount a culture war.
Cr Christensen started his political career as a Mackay councillor in 2004, becoming the Nationals Member for Dawson in 2010, resigning in 2022 to take a tilt at a Senate seat in the federal election that year as a One Nation candidate.
He received the second highest number of votes in March, 25,556, compared to the 26,376 votes for re-elected independent councillor Belinda Hassan.
Females dominate in South Burnett
Just over 100 years after Dr Ellen Kent-Hughes became Kingaroy's first female councillor, women will dominate the South Burnett Regional Council boardroom.
Five of the six councillors are women and former deputy mayor Kathy Duff has claimed victory in the mayoral race.
She received 41.95 per cent of the vote after preferences were distributed, while fellow councillor Kirstie Schumacher polled 24.45pc, Gavin 'Spud' Jone 21.8pc, and Tom Wilson 11.8pc.
A councillor for 20 years, Cr Duff said she believed her experience and five-point-plan had been contributing factors in her win.
"It's good to see women stepping up," she said, saying there had been a perception from the community that females would work collaboratively for the good of the community.
Cr Duff actively campaigned for the retention of electoral divisions in the council, saying it was important to ensure every corner of the region was represented.
"The previous council talked about removing divisions, but we've got agricultural communities as well as built-up areas and both need representation," she said.
"I've controversially not supported portfolios - I will encourage councillors to be across everything happening in their division, and to work hard for it."
Carpentaria in limbo
While the vast majority of Queensland's councils have had their polls declared, voters in the Gulf shire of Carpentaria are still waiting for an outcome to be posted in their mayoral and councillor contests.
It stands out as the only rural council not to have its results finalised but the Electoral Commission Queensland had no simple explanation for the delay.
In the mayoral poll, incumbent mayor Jack Bawden has 539 votes while his challenger, councillor Ashley Gallagher has 303 votes, with 69pc of the vote counted.
According to an ECQ spokesperson, they must be certain that the number of ballot papers, ie postal votes, outstanding and the preferences marked by electors can't change the outcome, when considering if the declaration of a candidate can be made.
"The ECQ anticipates that a declaration will be made for the Carpentaria Shire election in the next couple of days, following a recount to provide confidence to all candidates in the outcome of the election," they said.
The last day for postal votes to be received was March 26, seven days ago.
A number of other rural councils were given an outcome before the Easter break, including Bulloo, where incumbent mayor John 'Tractor' Ferguson was re-elected with 44pc of the vote, fighting off challenges from Jimmy Abbot (23.3pc), Shirley Girdler (16.7pc), and Vaughan Collins (15.6pc).
Robyn Holmes, who had been the deputy mayor at Cook, is that shire's new mayor, picking up 53.3pc of the vote, while Trevor Pickering has been returned as mayor for Croydon, collecting 96 votes to challenger Jarrod Pickering's 58 votes.
Livingstone deputy mayor Adem Belot was the winner in an upset result there, receiving 31pc of the vote to unseat incumbent mayor Andy Ireland for the mayor's role.
He finished with 7550 votes to Mr Ireland's 7070 votes.
There were no upsets in North Burnett, where Les Hotz remains the mayor, fighing off a challenge from deputy mayor Robbie Radel.
Suzette Beresford emerged triumphant in Paroo, polling 245 votes to 218 for Perry Higgins, 213 for Bill 'Toonk' Carr, and 197 for Ethan Crumblin.
Ben Hall was declared the new mayor at Quilpie, receiving 63pc of the vote to Dick Loveday's 37pc.
Troy Thompson defeated incumbent Jenny Hill for the top job at Townsville, receiving 50,167 votes to Ms Hill's 47,415 votes.
In Whitsunday, the CEO of the Bowen Gumlu Growers Association, Ry Collins is the new mayor following the retirement of Julie Hall, receiving 47pc of the vote.
The next highest challenger, Philip Batty finished with 24.92pc.
The latest results almost conclude council elections for four years, coming on the back of a number of shock results and mayoral changes around the state.