ANOTHER candidate has come forward to challenge sitting councillor Vince Habermann in Bundaberg Regional Council elections next year.

Personal trainer, CQUniversity tutor and avid community volunteer Peter Macklin has announced his candidature for Division 4 in the elections to be held in March.

Businesswoman Rachael Antrobus has already announced she will contest the seat.

Mr Macklin said he believed many residents were disillusioned with the current council and were seeking leaders to act as their advocates rather than run with their own agendas

. "Our new council needs to be filled with community-minded leaders who are there to work for the people and not for themselves or other outside influences," he said.

"It is the people of all of Bundaberg that matter, and not just one group or person."

Mr Macklin said he would campaign on several key issues.

These included improved drainage along roads, especially where roads had been raised in the past two years.

He also plans to investigate new income strategies for the council instead of focusing on increasing rates.

He wants to employ locals within the council and use as many local contractors as possible before using outside sources.

Mr Macklin also wants the council to provide residential green waste collection, which he said would greatly benefit those who may not have the means to take garden waste to the dump

He also plans to develop a comprehensive parking strategy for the CBD and other important commercial areas.

Mr Macklin said he believed councillors needed to work together for the good of the whole region, while still being sensitive to the specific needs of their division.

He also believes that his many years as an advocate and volunteer within the community demonstrated his capacity to work for others at a local level.

"As an avid bushwalker, martial artist, visitor of local tourist attractions and with experience in business and accounting, I am fit to run for council and start working for the people of Division 4," he said.

Mr Macklin said he had been a resident of the Bundaberg area since 1986, with a brief stint away in his early 20s when he lived in Mildura, Victoria

. "I have enjoyed working for a number of regional firms in industries including fishing, farming, finance, university tutoring, deliveries, science, fitness and administration plus a very brief time in tourism," he said.

He said he was involved in several community organisations, including Lions.