A Current Affair airs second story on Troy Thompson, focusing on domestic violence charges from his past

Mayor Troy Thompson history with domestic violence has been aired on national TV as he takes a leave of absence from the council.

Troy Thompson’s history with domestic violence has been aired on national TV, with A Current Affair doubling down on the embattled Mayor on Thursday night.

The program showed documents from the courts that outlined domestic violence charges from 2006.

The story came after Mr Thompson announced on Wednesday he would be taking a leave of absence from council until a Crime and Corruption Commission into him and claims he made during the election investigation was complete.

The Townsville Bulletin first reported on Mr Thompson’s history with DV charges in March, when it revealed he was still good friends with convicted murderer Peter Jason Burdell.

At the time, Mr Thompson made a confession on his Facebook page about a past ‘DV issue’. The case was heard under the last name Birnbrauer. No convictions were recorded.

Mr Thompson has since deleted the posts on Facebook.

The source said he had been ‘roped in’ to provide a character reference when Mr Thompson appeared under the name Troy Joseph Birnbrauer at the Southport Magistrates Court from 2017 to 2018.

Troy Thompson Photo: Facebook

ACA spoke to the CEO of Challenge DV, Keith Tracey-Patte, who said he did not believing holding such a criminal history made you a “fit and proper person” to be in an elected office.

“We should expect that our elected officials are held to the highest possible account that they should be setting a standard that the rest of us should be seeking to achieve and follow,” he said.

A Current Affair said it was not known if Mr Thompson was found guilty of those charges, however, documents seen by the Bulletin show the charges were finalised but no conviction was recorded.

Following the Townsville Bulletin uncovering of his false military and academic records and business failings, Mr Thompson has been put under the microscope and has received numerous calls for him to resign from various politicians including Premier Steven Miles, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, as well as Townsville councillors.

A dramatic no-show at Wednesday’s Townsville Council meeting, Mr Thompson announced on his social media page that he was taking a leave of absence for ‘mental health reasons’, with Deputy Paul Jacob stepping up as Acting Mayor.

Townsville’s councillors moved a vote of no confidence in the mayor and Townsville City Council’s acting CEO Joe McCabe has called on him to resign and for Local Government minister Megan Scanlon to remove him.

Mr Thompson’s conduct is currently under investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission.

It is unclear whether or not Mr Thompson will be paid his $4000 a week salary during this time.

Acting Mayor Paul Jacob Picture: Evan Morgan

Councillors on the same page about Townsville moving forward

Acting Townsville Mayor Paul Jacobs hopes to get Townsville back to normal “sooner rather than later”.

Mr Jacob has found himself leading the city after the shock departure of Mayor Troy Thompson from the role on Tuesday.

Mr Thompson has stood aside while he awaits the outcome of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation over claims he misled the public over military service and education outcomes.

All ten councillors at Tuesday’s council meeting also endorsed a vote of no confidence in the mayor.

At a Supercars press conference at Reid Park on Wednesday Mr Jacobs said the councillors were feeling relieved after what they went through on Tuesday.

“It was a big day for all of us...a very big day but all the councillors in the end were united,” Mr Jacob said.

He said the next step for the council was to let due process happen and wait for the CCC and the Office of the Independent Assessor to hand down their findings.

“That is out of our control,” he said.

“We have made our statement, the ten councillors, and it is just a matter of waiting and seeing and letting things transpire.”

He said the council was now moving forward promoting Townsville events like the Supercars.

“It’s good that we have got to this point because we are all focused on what we are doing and putting Townsville back on the map,” Mr Jacob said.

He said if anyone spoke to any of the councillors they would all be on the same page.

“We need to get Townsville back to what we call normal, which is a great city.”

When asked about the toll the last few days would have had on the mental health of Mr Thompson, Mr Jacob was sympathetic.

“It would definitely have been tough on the mayor’s mental health, having to go through what he had to go through,” he said

“We are all empathetic to what he has had to go through with his mental health, all the councillors.”

Mr Jacob did not know if the mayor would be continued to be paid during his time on the sidelines.

“That’s one thing I can’t answer,” he said.

“I don’t have any information whatsoever on what is going to happen there.”

“I just hope the whole situation is sorted.

“And the sooner the better as far as I am concerned”.

Originally published as A Current Affair airs second story on Troy Thompson, focusing on domestic violence charges from his past