Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson calls for dissolution of council in the face of no-confidence motion

Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson has dropped a bombshell on the eve of a no-confidence vote threatening to dissolve the entire council.

Townsville City Council Mayor Troy Thompson and deputy mayor Paul Jacob. Picture: Evan Morgan

Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson has sensationally threatened to dissolve the entire council over what he claims is a political witch hunt against him.

The embattled mayor hit out on the eve of a no-confidence vote against him, claiming political interference was behind recent calls from Townsville councillors for him to resign.

They have warned that they will move a motion at Wednesday’s meeting, which could open the door for Minister for Local Government Meaghan Scanlon to suspend him pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.

Mr Thompson is currently under investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

A majority of Townsville City Councillors have called on Troy Thompson to resign or be suspended at the next council meeting. Photo: Daniel Shirkie.

The scrutiny comes after the Townsville Bulletin revealed discrepancies in Mr Thompson’s military records compared to those he promoted during the local government election.

Additionally, the Bulletin reported he never graduated from any of the degrees he listed as part of his achievements during the campaign, claims he owned up to during an interview on A Current Affair.

The program also aired allegations that Mr Thompson had previously been fined for two counts of ‘forgery uttering’ and attempted fraud in the Southport Magistrates Court in 2007.

On Tuesday, Mr Thompson took to Facebook, posting the full 39-minute recording of his infamous A Current Affair interview in an effort to prove the final seven-minute segment was a bad edit.

In his accompanying post, he criticised his fellow councillors and the media, claiming that any intervention by Minister Scanlon to suspend him before the investigations conclude “could be perceived as a conflict of interest”.

Deputy mayor Paul Jacob standing with councillors as they call on Troy Thompson to resign or be suspended at the next council meeting. Photo: Daniel Shirkie.

“Minister, due process should always take precedence over media play, and not political interference,” Mr Thompson wrote.

“I call on all correspondence from all Local, State and Ministerial staff to be investigated, and if conflict is found, TCC council is dissolved in its entirety, and all positions compromised should be put up for re-election, the witch hunt should stop until there is a real outcome by the CCC.”

In the newly released recording, Mr Thompson denied he lied during the campaign and said he wasn’t worried about the investigations into him.

“Just because I didn’t remember a service number, or I didn’t remember service history. That’s not something to hang your hat on and say, ‘Hey, we got him’,” he said.

“That’s what I guess people use as taglines. I’m a community member. I was voted in by the community. It wasn’t based on a service number.”

The full 39-minute interview still included the fact Mr Thompson misled voters over his military, university and business qualifications.

Originally published as Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson calls for dissolution of council in the face of no-confidence motion