Steven Miles issues show cause notice to Townsville mayor Troy Thompson before government goes into caretaker mode
Troy Thompson has just three weeks to convince a state government he deserves to remain Townsville’s mayor, as both Labor and LNP commit to ensuring the city doesn’t remain “in limbo”.
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Troy Thompson has just three weeks to convince a state government he deserves to remain Townsville’s mayor, as he branded moves to suspend him for 12 months a “political hit job”.
Premier Steven Miles, Ms Scanlon and other cabinet ministers signed off on the decision just before 11pm Monday before caretaker mode kicked in, which allowed the government to formally issue the show-cause notice to Mr Thompson about 7am Tuesday before Mr Miles officially dissolved the government about 8.30am.
Speaking in Townsville on Tuesday, Ms Scanlon and Mr Miles said the mayor still had three weeks to build a case as to why the government should not step in and suspend him for a year.
After the three-week period, the State Government could make a deal with the Opposition under caretaker conventions to remove Mr Thompson from office.
Or, a week later, whoever is sworn in as Queensland’s next Premier will be given the task of either suspending or permanently removing the mayor.
LNP LEADER WEIGHS IN
David Crisafulli says he’s open to making a deal over the future of embattled Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson during caretaker mode.
While he refused to commit to immediately removing Mr Thompson from office, Mr Crisafulli said he would “absolutely” be willing to strike a deal over his suspension or removal if given access to the government’s legal advice and any relating legislative requirements.
“If it is the case that the CCC need more resources, we should give them those resources to be able to do this investigation, because 12 months is a ridiculously long period of time for a great city to be in limbo like that,” he said.
“Let’s have a look at the legal advice, let’s have look at the legislation. Absolutely.”
— Taylah Fellows
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Local Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon said while speaking in Townsville she would not take quicker action to remove Mr Thompson from his position even though he replied to her show-cause notice by referring to it as a “political hit job”.
“I’ve said through that show-cause notice that I’ll allow a three-week period and so obviously we’ll consider any correspondence or advice we received from the mayor in that period,” Ms Scanlon said.
“It’s entirely appropriate that we ensure that the three weeks is given.”
She approved the show-cause notice to be sent at 10.46pm on Monday, which was more than an hour before the government was placed into caretaker mode.
Ms Scanlon said the next stage of the process would involve seeking an agreement with Mr Crisafulli as to how to proceed with Mr Thompson’s removal from office.
It was yet unclear that if Mr Thompson was removed whether ratepayers would still be paying him a salary of more than $250,000 a year.
“We will consider that through the suspension show cause notice,” Ms Scanlon said.
Three weeks ago Ms Scanlon told the Townsville City Council that “we are all adults” as she revealed the state government would intervene and appoint an adviser to mediate between Mr Thompson and the 10 councillors.
Late last week she was given new information that was confidential in nature which questioned the Mayor’s suitability in the role, and despite the show cause notice to speed up the Crime and Corruption Commission process, Ms Scanlon said the state appointed adviser would still be appointed.
“The Director General did make a decision to appoint an adviser for the purpose of ensuring that the functions of the Townsville City Council can operate in the way in which everyone would expect, and these are two separate matters.
“I understand that’s going through the gazetted process and that should be in place very soon.”
— Chris Burns
MAYOR BLASTS MOVE
Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson has branded the Miles government’s last-minute move to oust him as a “political hit job”.
“I reject every allegation made in the letter to me this morning. It is nothing but one sided,” Mr Thompson said via a statement on Facebook.
“These allegations have not been tested in a court of law, and it appears the Labor Government is attempting to subvert natural justice.
“The Labor Government has demonstrated a disregard for your vote, for natural justice, and for the processes of the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
“I have formally written to the Minister, demanding that any actions she seeks to take be deferred until after the caretaker period. This is the only appropriate course of action.
It is unacceptable for the Labor Minister to take such drastic measures during the caretaker period.”
Mr Thompson demanded that the minister withdrew her “vexatious and conflated” claims in the letter and warned that he would not hesitate to seek a Supreme Court injunction immediately “should any adverse action be taken”.
“A truly independent Supreme Court judge will require all workings, the background to and underlying motives for your conduct to be made public,” he said.
The mayor accused the government’s letter of “undermining democratic principles” and maintained that he legitimately held his position, despite Townsville City Council’s “Labor councillors” not liking him.
“I have sought to bring transparency in the working of the council to the public’s view but that has been struck down by councillors who do not wish for their own conduct to be open to scrutiny, and now by a state government of the same political persuasion,” he said.
“It seems you do not wish for councillors from your political party to stop undermining my role.”
Also highlighted was his “strained relationship” with the council’s chief legal officer and acting CEO, regarding his anti-discrimination claim, where the government’s letter “might seem as constituting victimisation against me” for pursuing the matter.
Read the full letter below.
LGAQ SLAMS PREMIER’S MOVE
Meanwhile, the boss of the Local Government Association of Queensland has slammed the Premier’s move to issue a show-cause notice to stand down Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson for 12 months.
“We are disappointed with the lack of consultation from the State Government leading up to this action,” LGAQ CEO Alison Smith said.
“It is absolutely crucial that any State intervention is based on proper process and sound reasoning which must also be transparent, measured and above politics.
“Considerations must take into account any precedent it could set for the elected mayors and councillors of all 77 councils across Queensland.”
With just an hour to spare as Queensland Premier, Steven Miles swung the axe on Townsville’s embattled mayor to suspend him from duties for a period of 12 months.
Mayor Troy Thompson had three weeks to respond to the notice, issued about 7am Tuesday before government was dissolved, at which point the State Government could make a deal with the Opposition under the caretaker conventions to remove him from office.
Or, a week later, whoever is sworn in as Queensland’s next Premier will be given the task of either suspending or permanently removing the mayor.
LNP Leader David Crisafulli on Monday reiterated his stance, saying Mr Thompson’s position was “untenable” and a detriment to the city.
Mr Miles confirmed the late-night move, which was signed just before 11pm Monday before caretaker mode ticked over and allowed the government to formally issue the show-cause notice to Mr Thompson at 7am Tuesday.
‘BEST THING FOR HIM TO STAND DOWN’
“I’ve consistently said that if Mr Thompson cares about Townsville in the way he claims to, the best thing for Townsville would be for him to stand down,” Mr Miles said Tuesday morning.
In the letter, the government outlined reasons it was in the public interest for Mr Thompson to be suspended, including hampering council from performing its responsibilities to its residents effectively, damaging confidence in local government, risking the welfare of council staff and unreasonably diverting council resources.
It is not yet known if Mr Thompson will attend the general council meeting on Wednesday morning, with the mayor absent from a function he planned on attending Monday night and he had not yet appeared in the Walker Street office on Tuesday.
MILES IN LATE NIGHT MEETINGS
The Premier’s plan to suspend Mr Thompson imploded Monday night as ministers and lawyers scrambled to cement the move.
Shortly before 8pm on Monday evening, insiders revealed that Mr Miles was still in meetings with his ministers and government lawyers determining how they could suspend the mayor, currently under investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission. No action has been taken.
It is understood the Premier was even willing to swear himself in as Local Government Minister in order to speed up the process, with Mr Thompson’s threat of seeking a Supreme Court injunction reportedly throwing a spanner in the works.
It is understood Mr Miles was still dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to enable him to send a ‘show cause’ notice before the midnight deadline before the government went into caretaker mode.
Speaking in Brisbane on Monday morning, Mr Miles said he was “very concerned” watching the Townsville mayor unable to work with his councillors, community leaders and state and federal representatives.
“I’ve been absolutely consistent that I thought the best thing in Townsville’s interests would be for him to stand aside,” Mr Miles said.
“He’s consistently refused to do so.”
Mr Miles said he had recently met with community leaders and the local MPs, including Katter’s Australia Party deputy leader Nick Dametto, who all raised concerns about Mr Thompson.
“They all indicated to me that they thought the situation at council was getting worse, not better,” he said, adding “ … they all thought that if there was action that could be taken, it should be taken”.
“I left there very concerned, and so we’ve been seeking legal advice since then.”
MAYOR FACING CRIME AND CORRUPTION PROBE
Mr Thompson is the subject of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation after he misled voters on his military, university and business qualifications, as well as accepting a number of campaign donations linked to property developers.
“The question was never whether we could act, it’s whether we should,” Mr Miles said.
“But last week, we received advice via the CCC that the process of that investigation could take many, many more months. And then I received advice that the situation at council appeared to be getting worse, not better.
“Those two pieces of information led me to the view that if we can act now, we should, and so that’s the legal advice that we’ve been seeking.”
Mr Miles said at the time that he expected Mr Thompson to pursue a Supreme Court Injunction.
“Look, that’s something that would be open to him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does pursue those avenues,” Mr Miles said.
“I think that would be a shame for Townsville.”
‘NQ NEEDS PATH FORWARD’
The Premier said he wanted to give North Queensland a “certain path forward” in stepping in to suspend the mayor.
“Townsville is the most important regional city in Queensland, and we need it to be pumping,” Mr Miles said.
“It had been pumping up until the local government election, and unfortunately, the change of mayor there has really caused it to stumble.”
“ … we have put a lot into the Townsville economy these last 10 years, and it’s been successful because we’ve largely had three levels of government working together along with the local community and business leaders.
“We’ve really felt since the local government election, that collaboration, that shared vision, has fallen away, and that is a risk to Townsville, a risk that’s too important to take.”
Speaking in Cairns on Monday, LNP Leader David Crisafulli said he had “not changed my opinion” about overhauling the Local Government Act to avoid a repeat in a mayor being elected in Queensland after embellishing his CV.
“I want to see the legislation. I want to see the legal advice. So I don’t want to comment about the specific bit of the legislation, but I want to make this comment,” he told reporters.
“I have said for a long time that this position is untenable.
“I know the frustration in that city, I’m seeing it, feeling it and about it from hearing from mates. I do believe his position is untenable.
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Originally published as Steven Miles issues show cause notice to Townsville mayor Troy Thompson before government goes into caretaker mode
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