Queensland councils have overwhelmingly rejected the Palaszczuk Government’s plans to force changes to the way people elect their local government.

The Government’s proposed changes include the forced introduction of compulsory preferential voting in all mayoral elections next year.

Councils say voters rather than governments should have the final say on who gets their vote and who does not.

“These are matters of significant concern to those who value the quality of political and policy debate in Queensland,” said Local Government Association of Queensland President and Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson.

“We would be doing our communities a disservice if we didn’t remain vigilant to any sign the Government was trying to use the cloak of integrity and accountability to sneak through other, less worthy and politically motivated changes.”

The association has resolved to reject any moves to introduce compulsory preferential voting across all councils and also voted against the introduction of proportional representation into council elections.

The Government has now decided to wind back some of its original proposals or defer their introduction until the 2024 local government elections.