President

Henry is a Townsville resident and professional engineer with over 30 years experience.

He was born in Ingham to a cane farming family and continues to hold strong ties to the area. Henry has a Bachelor of Engineering from James Cook University and a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University as well as formal qualifications as an Australian Company Director.

Throughout his professional career Henry has worked as an engineer in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom for the public sector and also at a board/management level in the private sector.

Henry has a demonstrated commitment to sustainable infrastructure development in Northern Australia and is passionate about the development of green energy, water and technology projects. He has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research into men's mental health through his volunteer work with the Banish the Black Dog charity bike rides.

Henry has been part of the North Queensland State Alliance since 2015. His focus, as part of the Alliance, is on the failure of the process of governance. He believes that the primary reason for this failure is the act of decision making being far too removed from the point of interest.

Secretary

Margaret is proudly a born and bred north Queenslander with professional experience and qualifications in education (M Ed Studies), management (MBA), community and economic development and corporate governance.

Margaret is a chartered governance professional, a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is passionate about the not-for-profit sector and spends much of her free time supporting community development initiatives and local sporting organisations.

Margaret has had community leadership roles in disaster recovery in cyclones and floods across northern Queensland. She has owned and operated a small business, been a partner in a cane growing enterprise and been employed by local and state government and not-for-profit organisations.

As a mother and grandmother, Margaret is very keen to see the future for the next generations as one where their voices are heard, and they are genuinely democratically represented while living in the best part of Australia – northern Queensland.

Treasurer

Rachael Coco is a small business owner in North Queensland who is passionate about economic development, community and family.

Rachael was nominated in the Citizen of the Year and Individual Achievement categories at the Hinchinbrook Australia Day Awards in 2021 for her volunteer contributions to the community as President of the Hinchinbrook Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Tourism.

She is respected for her commitment to local business, various not-for-profit organisations and the broader community including her work with local Traditional Owners and indigenous corporations. Rachael is passionate about improving outcomes for First Nations people and creating opportunities in regional Queensland. Her volunteer work includes securing grant funding for various organisations and projects, event planning, media relations and advocacy.

Rachael has been credited with playing an integral role in compelling the Australian Government to introduce a $10b reinsurance pool for cyclones and related flood damage in Northern Australia and putting regional issues on a national and international stage. She has contributed to The Guardian Australia and is the Sub-Editor for Ingham Daily Press, an online publication that provides her regional community with a voice.

Sam was born and bred in Home Hill into a proud, fifth generation pioneering family that had beef cattle and later developed sugar cane farming operations. He was raised with his three siblings by his mother after his father passed away at age 40 when Sam was just 10 years old.

Sam was sent to boarding school in Brisbane to finish his senior years, an opportunity which leaves him forever indented to his mother who remained at home to run the property and farm alone. After graduating, he became part of the family’s beef and sugar operations until he married and moved to Townsville in 2000. This move allowed him to seek other opportunities enabled his wife to work after completing her first university degree by correspondence. There, he worked around most of north west Queensland with Dalgetys, a rural pastoral house.

In 2007, he and his family moved to Magnetic Island to run a small tourist accommodation business they had purchased. There, he become house dad to his three children while his wife continued her job in Townsville, balancing their personal and professional commitments to manage the business together. Sam returned to Townsville in 2010 to work with Elders in rural and commercial real estate.

In 2012 he was nominated to run for the seat of Thuringowa at the upcoming Queensland State Elections and was subsequently elected. Sam was a Member for Parliament for three years as part of the Newman Government and remains very grateful to have been able to represent all of North Queensland. He takes pride in his achievement during his term and the opportunity to be a voice for the north.

After being defeated at the 2015 state election, Sam resumed working in business development of the retail, livestock and property sectors across North Queensland for Elders.