Four Logan City Councillors call for Mayor Luke Smith to step aside
FAULT lines are beginning to appear in Logan City Council, with four councillors calling on besieged Mayor Luke Smith to stand down.
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FAULT lines are beginning to appear in Logan City Council, with four councillors calling on besieged Mayor Luke Smith to stand down.
The councillors have joined State Labor MP for Waterford Shannon Fentiman in mounting pressure on Cr Smith to resign after he was charged with corruption and perjury on March 26.
Ms Fentiman made the call after Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe was left with his hands tied over the matter until after the court process.
“I absolutely believe people are innocent until proven guilty and the Mayor has every right to defend these allegations,” Ms Fentiman wrote on Facebook.
“However, for the good of our local community, I think Luke Smith must now stand aside while this matter is before the court.”
Today, councillors Jon Raven, Laurie Koranski, Lisa Bradley and Darren Power have added their voice to the chorus.
In a letter to Mr Hinchliffe, the group said the severity of the charges against Cr Smith, “make this situation untenable”.
“These charges relate to integrity matters and his roles and responsibilities as a councillor of Logan City Council,” they wrote.
“lt is unreasonable to expect an individual charged with such serious offences to be able to undertake his duties as Mayor and he should be removed in the public interest.”
Shortly after he was charged, Cr Smith released a public statement stating he will not be stepping down as Mayor and will be “vigorously” defending the charges.
But the four councillors say they only were made aware of Cr Smith’s intentions to remain as Mayor after media reports.
They allege Cr Smith held a meeting “with a select group of councillors” which they were not included in.
The council has been contacted for comment.
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