Townsville’s under siege mayor Troy Thompson says council used security guards to block his return

Townsville’s beleaguered Mayor Troy Thompson has accused his council of blocking his return from sick leave and undermining his authority, renewing the Premier’s calls for him to resign.

Troy Thompson has accused Townsville city council’s acting CEO Joe McCabe (left) and councillors of overstepping their bounds.

Premier Steven Miles has reiterated calls for Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson to stand down after another firey outburst on social media.

Early Tuesday morning, Mr Thompson put a statement on his Facebok page accusing the council of blocking his return from sick leave and undermining his authority.

Mr Thompson, who has been on a leave of absence since June 5, alleges that security guards prevented him from re-entering the council building when he tried to return last Wednesday.

It comes after revelations he made false claims about his military history, which prompted Townsville city councillors to unanimously vote for a motion urging Queensland’s local government minister to suspend him on June 5.

Mr Thompson has been referred to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

Troy Thompson was a no-show at the Townsville City Council meeting on June 5 when councillors unanimously vote for a motion urging Queensland’s local government minister to suspend him.

In the post, which broke his 12-day social media silence, he accused the Townsville City Council’s acting CEO Joe McCabe and councillors of overstepping their bounds.

“I had issued a lawful direction under the Local Government Act, and the Acting CEO refused to comply,” he wrote.

“This is now a matter for the department, and for the CCC. I call on the department to take urgent action and reinstate the democratically elected mayor.”

Mr Thompson’s grievances are extensive. He claims that on June 5, councillors unlawfully stripped him of his powers, effectively taking control of the council for themselves.

“The Acting CEO’s support for this action is concerning and denies Townsville residents their voice,” he said.

Mr Thompson insists that the council’s resolutions, which strip him of his responsibilities, are invalid and unlawful.

He has called for the removal of the council’s “unsound” resolutions, requested a review by the Queensland Ombudsman, and filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) regarding the councillors’ conduct.

Townsville City Council said it was “aware” of the Mayor’s statement on Facebook, but said it was “not in a position to comment”.

However, the council did confirm that “it is required to meet its duties in relation to the work health and safety of all councillors and staff under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011”.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles says Mr Thompson should step aside, Picture David Clark

The Queensland Premier said Mr Thompson’s outburst confirmed his prediction that the dysfunction with the Mayor made his position “untenable”.

Mr Miles said Mr Thompson was holding the city “to ransom” and should step aside if he “really does care about Townsville”.

“I think it would be in the best interest of Townsville,” he said.

Mr Miles said arrangements needed to be in place so the state government could continue to deliver for the future of Townsville.

“I think this whole situation is unfortunate but I don’t want to see impact on the future of Townsville,” he said.

“Townsville has been going from strength to strength economically, when we came to office it had a terrible unemployment, right and now the unemployment rate is as close to full employment as you can get. So that’s what we want to continue.”

Mr Miles said it would be in appropriate for his government to step in.

“You couldn’t have a situation where one set of politicians can make decisions about other sets of politicians, particularly where they might be from opposing parties,” he said.

The Premier said the investigation was being handled by the CCC, but added that Mr Thompson should think “long and hard” about the impact he was having on the city that he “professed to care about”.

More to come.

Originally published as Townsville’s under siege mayor Troy Thompson says council used security guards to block his return