Draft:Amy Eden (Cairns Mayor)

Amy Maree Eden is an Australian politician.

Eden was elected as the mayor of the Cairns Region at the 2024 Queensland local elections, defeating incumbent Terry James and independent Paul Taylor by more than 5,500 votes.

Upon her election Eden became the fourth (and the second female) mayor to lead Cairns Regional Council since its inception following the 2008 Queensland council amalgamations, after her predecessors Val Schier, Bob Manning and Terry James.

Local government
Prior to her being elected mayor, Eden was elected at the 2020 local elections to represent Division 5, winning by just four votes.

During her mayoral campaign in 2024, Eden faced accusations of plagiarism after she used passages from a social media post written by Toowoomba Region deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff. In a statement, Vonhoff said she hadn't given Eden permission for her words to be used. However, a campaign spokesperson claimed Eden had attempted to inform Vonhoff that she would be using elements of her work but Vonhoff had missed the message and as a result did not provide permission and subsequently apologised to Vonhoff.

Following her election as mayor, Eden was referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission relating to conflict of interest concerns regarding the appointment of her former campaign advisor John Andrejic into the role of the council's interim chief executive officer.

Eden walked out a media conference on 19 June 2024 when asked about if she had been referred to the corruption commission. Eden denied there had been any conflict of interest and later said she wasn't aware of any investigation.

However on 25 June 2024, Queensland's local government minister Meaghan Scanlon confirmed the relevant authorities had been made aware of the issue stating that allegations had been made and if any recommendations are made, she would announce them in due course.

Background
Originally from the Northern Territory, Eden grew up in a tourist park her parents owned. She attended Katherine South Primary School and then Katherine High School.

She relocated to Far North Queensland in 2003 where she studied at James Cook University, graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work.

Eden has previously worked for Relationships Queensland and a number of state government departments including the Department of Environment and Science and the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.

Prior to entering local politics, Eden was involved in the 3MPride initiative advocating for Cairns' lower socio-economic suburbs Manoora, Manunda and Mooroobool.

Eden lived in Murray Street in Manoora for eight years - the scene of the 2014 Cairns child killings. Eden served as the coordinator for the Manoora Community Garden which was an initiative developed following the deaths of the children.