Premier Steven Miles says Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson must stand down

Premier Steven Miles has called for Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson to stand down after he revealed on national television that he misled voters about his education, business nous and military career. POLL

Premier Steven Miles has called for Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson to stand down following his bombshell admission on national television that he misled voters about his education, business nous and military career.

Mr Miles said that in light of the shock admissions made during an explosive interview on A Current Affair on Thursday night, it was “hard to imagine” how Mr Thompson remaining mayor was in Townsville’s best interest.

“That would seem sufficient to me for him to stand down in the interest of Townsville,” he said.

Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson during the A Current Affair interview

“Townsville is one of our biggest and most important cities. It can’t afford the uncertainty that’s going to come from a weak leader, that was severely weakened by their admissions.

“Of all the places to lie about your military service Townsville would have to be just about the worst.”

During the interview, Mr Thompson admitted he never finished university, embellished his military service and committed forgery, despite touting himself as a business graduate with two degrees and experience running global companies during his election campaign.

Prior to being elected, Mr Thompson’s LinkedIn profile listed a number of qualifications including a Bachelor of Science, Occupational Safety and Health Technology with Curtin University completed 1990-1993 and a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Marketing via Griffith University from 2000-2005.

“So I never completed them,” Mr Thompson told the A Current Affair program.

“But I started them off. And then life changed. It was that simple.”

Mr Thompson was also forced to apologise to veterans and military personnel after untruthful comments about a five-year stint in the army and SAS.

Premier Steven Miles says Townsville can’t afford the uncertainty of having Mr Thompson as mayor. . Picture: Tertius Pickard

The mayor claimed he had forgotten he had only spent six months undertaking entry-level training within the army reserves over two and a half years.

“Those who know me know that I’ve had multiple concussions, 100 plus, and I suffer from epilepsy,” he said.

“That’s not an excuse. But what it says is, you’re going to forget things from time to time.”

Mr Thompson’s military history has been investigated by the Office of the Independent Assessor after questions about his army experienced arose during Anzac week.

The OIA has since referred the investigation to the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Mr Miles said the state government would be powerless if Mr Thompson refused to stand down during the investigation process.

“It’s unlikely that there’s anything we could do in those circumstances. Appropriate processes are being undertaken to investigate those matters,” he said.

“But I think it’s in Townsville’s best interest for them to have a mayor that hasn’t lied to them.”

“I’d urge him to seriously consider what’s in the best interest of the city that he said he cared about when he ran for election.”

Federal Herbert MP Phillip Thompson, also an army veteran, says the mayor needs to “step aside” pending the outcome of the Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.

“This has disappointed a lot of people in the largest garrison city in the country, and certainly the correspondence I’ve received from the veteran community following these reports has been of shock and upset,” Phillip Thompson said.

The Member for Herbert Phillip Thompson urged the mayor to stand aside.

The MP said after the mayor admitted to misleading voters, he had lost the trust of the community.

“(As an elected leader) you need to be transparent and honest, you need to tell the truth to the community and answer the community when tough questions are asked,” he said.

“Once that faith is lost, it is extremely difficult to serve the people that have put their faith in you. There is now trust that has been eroded.”

The Herbert MP said things had changed since the CCC began their investigations because the mayor “has now admitted” to embellishing his army and university qualifications.

“The allegations that went to the CCC, some of those allegations have now become fact and the community has rightly wanted answers and still don’t know if they’ve got all of them,” he said.

“Pending the CCC findings the mayor should stand aside and the local government minister who has the response over what happens needs to make the decisions.”

The Mayor received no respite from Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto on Friday.

“The gentleman ... has made some claim and everyone knows if you make claims in public office, they’ll be scrutinised,” he said.

Hinchinbrook MP and KAP Deputy Leader Nick Dametto. Picture: Supplied

“I think it’s a timely reminder to everyone, especially those heading into a state election, that being upfront, honest and truthful with voters is imperative because eventually if you don’t put the truth forward … it’ll come out in the wash.”

The KAP deputy leader said it was impossible for Mr Thompson’s “mind to focus on the job”.

“We’ve got parks and gardens overgrowing, we’ve got ailing infrastructure and until this is sorted out in some way, shape or form, the everyday needs of the city have the potential to fall behind.”

But the Mayor was standing firm on Friday afternoon, claiming it was business as usual while blaming the media for the “negativity”.

“I have no intention to step aside as some of the naysayers would like, because when people were looking for a change, no one, except my friend Harry (Patel) and I stood up,” the mayor wrote on Facebook.

“I look forward to the many people currently being negative toward me, putting their hand up in four years, until then, I will work incredibly hard to be transparent, and clear on our direction, and promote Townsville in the positive light it deserves.

Harry Patel, who ran for mayor before the election, said the city no longer had confidence in the mayor. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mayoral candidate Harry Patel has called for a by-election, saying he was extremely concerned about how the city looks after Mayor Thompson’s A Current Affair interview.

“We do not have any confidence in our Mayor anymore,” Mr Patel said.

Mr Patel said Townsville was a military town and this was making the city look bad as the story spread.

He said he saw what the Mayor posted on Facebook, talking about transparency and accountability.

“If he is so transparent, why are you doing all of this?” he said.

Mr Patel said Mr Thompson told him they would have a beer when he’d won the election, but he had failed to follow through. He added that Mr Thompson was not very “friendly” with him during the campaign.

In one of his most recent Facebook posts, Mr Thompson referred to Mr Patel as a “friend”.

LGAQ chief executive Alison Smith said the association had been in touch with Mr Thompson earlier this week and offered him support, including avenues for legal assistance.

“This is a matter that is now actually under investigation by authorities and we need to wait for that to play out,” she said.

“We don’t talk about individual matters of members.”

Originally published as Premier Steven Miles says Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson must stand down