Police reports filed following ‘profanity laden’ argument between Cairns council’s former top bosses
A heated corflute confrontation between a former Cairns mayor and CEO, stumping for a rival, has spilled out onto a suburban street, but police won’t be pressing any charges.
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A corflute confrontation between a former Cairns mayor and council chief executive has spilled over onto a quiet suburban street, with authorities forced to intervene following the heated exchange.
Ex-Mayor Bob Manning retired citing health concerns last year while John Andrejic ran Cairns Regional Council for four years before departing in late 2020.
But the pair’s bad blood boiled over on a hot and humid February morning in Gordonvale.
It’s understood Mr Andrejic, who is campaigning for Cairns mayoral candidate Amy Eden, placed a ‘Team Eden’ sign near his old boss’s home earlier this month.
Mr Manning, 78, who lives in a quiet residential area, promptly removed the sign leading to an altercation between the former work colleagues.
A short, “profanity-laden” argument ensued before Mr Manning eventually relented, handing the former chief executive the corflute back and then driving away.
The ex-mayor, who was contacted but declined to comment on the incident, later reported the matter to police.
In a statement, authorities confirmed they had investigated a dispute between two men that had occurred earlier this month.
“Police investigated a complaint of public nuisance in Gordonvale on February 1,” a police spokeswoman said.
“Initial reports indicate a local council corflute was placed in front of a private property before being removed by a nearby resident, and a verbal altercation ensued.
“No further evidence was available, and investigations were finalised. No charges were laid.”
The confrontation had remained out of the public eye until in a surprise twist, Ms Eden cryptically referred to the incident on her social media recently — but did not divulge the names of the two men involved.
“A week ago, a volunteer was installing some election signage for us,” Ms Eden said on TikTok.
“After installing one particular sign, (he) noticed a gentleman come out of his house, rip the sign out of the ground … and took it home.”
Following the police complaint, Mr Andrejic took the matter further, Ms Eden said.
“We did a counter (complaint) for stealing,” she said in the video.
“As it turns out, the sign was returned to us. The gentleman did admit to the police that he took the sign but he didn’t intend to keep it.”
When contacted regarding the social media post, Team Eden’s campaign manager said the mayoral candidate aimed to highlight issues around election signage.
“Who was involved in both instances of signage interference mentioned in the video is irrelevant to the message,” he said.
“That being there is no legal protection for properly erected roadside signage.”
It has been a hard week for the Team Eden campaign, with the leader embroiled in claims she plagiarised a Toowoomba councillor’s work.
She was criticised for providing incorrect information in relation to the council’s green waste policy by Division 1 councillor Brett Moller on Wednesday and cancelled an interview with ABC Far North’s breakfast program at late notice on Thursday.
Multiple calls were made to Mr Andrejic across two days but the former chief executive couldn’t be reached prior to deadline.
Ms Eden was a former member of Bob Manning’s Unity Team before defecting soon after being elected.
The bitter dispute between Mr Manning and Mr Andrejic is seen as a sad end to the high profile figures’ relationship, which an insider once described as the “strongest bond” within all of council.
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Originally published as Police reports filed following ‘profanity laden’ argument between Cairns council’s former top bosses
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