Lockyer Valley mayor Tanya Milligan condemns colleague Brett Qualischefski after councillor conduct tribunal misconduct ruling

A southeast Queensland mayor has condemned her council colleague after he was found to have committed misconduct by photographing a woman at a public gym.

Pressure continues to mount on a Lockyer Valley councillor after he was found to have engaged in misconduct for repeatedly photographing a woman while she worked out at a gym.

In a matter that has been condemned by his mayor Tanya Milligan, first-term councillor Brett Qualischefski was on May 15 ruled to have “failed to provide high quality leadership” by the Councillor Conduct Tribunal for stalking a woman on three separate occasions between March 24 and April 1, 2021.

The tribunal revealed Mr Qualischefski watched the woman exercise, and twice took photographs of her without her consent and sent them to another person.

Lockyer Valley Regional councillor Brett Qualischefski.

On one occasion the woman caught him “looking at her groin” while she was doing hip thrusts.

The findings detailed that the woman “felt sick in the stomach and anxious” as a result of Mr Qualischefski’s actions.

The councillor did not contest the misconduct allegations.

The tribunal ordered Mr Qualischefski to attend counselling and pay back $2000 in costs as a result of the two-year deliberation process.

Mr Qualischefski, who called his behaviour “stupid”, did not respond to inquiries on Monday, but told News Corp on Friday he would not resign.

“After all the years of my work and different jobs I’ve done, I’ve finally found my calling in life,” he said.

“Helping people is what I enjoy the most so for me it’s a calling, not a job, and I don’t want to walk away from that.”

Ms Milligan stopped short of calling on Mr Qualischefski to resign, however said she would do so in the same situation.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council mayor Tanya Milligan. PHOTO: Ali Kuchel

“People I’ve spoken to say he should consider resigning but I said that the decision is entirely his to make,” she said.

“If it were me, I would’ve resigned two years ago, because people elect you in good faith and I say openly that people invite us into their homes.

“It’s a position of privilege and he’s breached that.”

Ms Milligan, who was scathing of how long it took to deliver the verdict, also reminded residents she had no powers to sack a councillor.

This was reinforced by a spokesman for the Department of State Development and Local Government, who said minister Steven Miles could remove a councillor either if the independent tribunal recommended it or if he deemed they had breached local government principles.

“The conduct tribunal made no recommendation to the minister in the case of Cr Qualischefski,” he said.

“The minister may also recommend a councillor be removed if they reasonably believe that a councillor has seriously or continuously breached the local government principles, or is incapable of performing their responsibilities, or it is otherwise in the public interest.”

Ms Milligan said Mr Qualischefski had yet to contact her about the matter.

Mr Qualischefski is involved with the Liberal National Party on a local level.

The council register of interests from March show he is both the vice-chairman of the federal divisional council for the seat of Wright and the treasurer of the party’s state electorate council for Lockyer.