‘No idea ranga was offensive’: Mayor Tom Tate investigated for ‘derogatory’ joke

Controversial Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate faces potential disciplinary action from the state’s council watchdog after he called a fellow councillor a “ranga”.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is under official investigation for improper conduct – for jokingly calling a fellow councillor a “ranga”.

He faces potential disciplinary action after the state’s council watchdog upheld a complaint that the term “ranga” refers to an orangutan, is associated with “discriminatory feelings” and Cr Tate’s use of the word was “not funny” and “extremely derogatory”.

The mayor has vowed to fight the matter, saying he “had no idea that the term ‘ranga’ was offensive to some people”.

Cr Joe Wilkinson alongside Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The probe follows the complaint to the Office of the independent Assessor into lighthearted comments the mayor made at a media conference in April after the council elections.

Cr Tate was asked his views on a Facebook post by Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek who welcomed new councillor and close friend Joe Wilkinson by describing him as “ranga”, with the hashtags “#diversity” and “#multiculturalism”.

The mayor responded by saying he “didn’t even know he (Cr Wilkinson) was a ranga” but it was good for the Coast’s “diversity”.

Cr Tate said former councillor William Owen-Jones had retired and “he was a ranga”.

“You know, lose one ranga, get another ranga. What the hell. That’s what the Gold Coast is all about,” he told journalists.

Mr Owen-Jones also weighed in, posting on Mr Langbroek’s Facebook page: “Wait til they start picking on the elected representatives with the hyphenated names … #RangasRuleTheWorld”.

But an anonymous complainant did not see the humour and lodged an official gripe with the OIA.

A screenshot from MP John-Paul Langbroek's Facebook.

A post to MP John-Paul Langbroek's social media

It recently wrote to the council to say it had assessed the complaint and confirmed it as a suspected breach of the councillor code of conduct.

The OIA said Cr Tate was suspected of having contravened standards of behaviour requiring councillors to “treat people in a reasonable, just, respectful and non-discriminatory way”, to “treat fellow councillors, local government employees and members of the public with courtesy, honesty and fairness” and “have proper regard for other people’s rights, obligations, cultural differences, safety, health and welfare”.

“While the conduct may well be argued to be in jest or intended to be humorous, it was considered in assessing this matter that the term (ranga) was still capable of being discriminatory and unreasonably causing offence to particular groups,” the OIA said.

“The complaint raised various concerns about the use of the term “ranga” by the mayor, including its references to orangutans.

“The complaint also made reference to other similar terms often used which are also associated with ‘discriminatory feelings’ and how others in the public eye have been dealt with as a result.

“The complaint referred to the mayor’s behaviour as ‘not funny’ and ‘extremely derogatory’.”

The OIA noted it was “not the first time” Mayor Tate had made comments in the media that were “considered discriminatory to others”.

It said it had referred a complaint to the council in 2021 after Cr Tate said: “You wouldn’t want to put a Chinese (person) next to someone who’s got a cat, you know. She might be breakfast’.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: John Gass

The OIA noted Cr Tate had apologised for that comment as a “poor joke” and the matter was discontinued, but “the nature of such comments make it particularly relevant for Mayor Tate’s fellow councillors to consider and decide if the commentary is in line with the community’s expectations for an elected official”.

The OIA has referred the “ranga” complaint to the council to investigate. If found guilty, Cr Tate could face a range of sanctions including having to issue another public apology or a be issued with a misconduct warning.

Contacted for comment, Cr Tate vowed to defend the complaint and said he was “disappointed that the OIA has seen fit to have this matter further investigated”.

“When I went to school, people with red hair were called ‘Blue’ and sometimes particularly tall people were called ‘Stretch’,” he said.

“With my Asian heritage, I was often called more colourful things. I had no idea that the term ‘ranga’ was offensive to some people and I certainly did not intend to cause any offence. In using the term, I was actually responding to a direct question from a journalist.”

Cr Tate said he respected the OIA’s role but questioned the use of taxpayer and ratepayer-funded resources to investigate such “time-consuming and costly” complaints.

“I will be defending the allegation that I have committed a conduct breach and I am seeking (legal) advice in that regard,” he said.

Cr Wilkinson told The Courier-Mail he was a “proud ranga” and had no issue with the mayor’s comments.

“Honestly, the OIA’s resources should be going to things much more important than this - it just seems to be a complete waste of time and effort and money on something as trivial as this,” he said.

“It’s just crazy.”

Cr Wilkinson said he had not been contacted by the OIA, despite being the “ranga” in question.

“The mayor says he didn’t know it was offensive and I certainly didn’t take it that way,” he said.

“I’m a proud ranga. I referred to myself as a “ginger” on my official councillor Facebook page only a little over a week ago.”