Luke Smith speaks out after Industrial Court rules against ex-CEO Sharon Kelsey and orders her to pay costs

The sacked mayor of Logan City Council has spoken out for the first time about the ‘ridicule and abuse’ he endured during a gruelling four-year court battle, which ended this week.

The sacked former mayor of Logan City Council has spoken out for the first time about his termination after a ruling from an Industrial Court this week brought a four-year case to an end.

Ex-mayor Luke Smith said he was “sacked, abused, completely ridiculed and now vindicated” in a post on Facebook following the ruling by Industrial Court Judge Peter Davis this week.

Justice Davis’ order was for former Logan council CEO Sharon Kelsey to pay the council’s legal costs and the costs of seven former councillors after it dismissed Ms Kelsey’s final appeal in May.

Former Logan council chief executive Sharon Kelsey lost her appeal against an April 2021 Queensland Industrial Relations Commission ruling in the Industrial Court on Friday. Picture: Judith Kerr

“So here it is,” Mr Smith wrote, “the reason that the CCC launched an investigation into us as councillors and charged us with fraud and had us all sacked,” the facebook post said.

“Fast forward - the fraud charges were spectacularly dropped making the CCC look embarrassed and forced the resignation of their commissioner.

“Now, finally, the Industrial (Relations) Court has declared that the ex-CEO was rightfully terminated without any fault to the council.

“She is now left to pay out her lawyers and has been hit with a multimillion-dollar payment to pay for our costs and court costs.

“Sacked, abused, completely ridiculed and now vindicated.”

Mr Smith said his lawyers were unsure of the total cost details but said Ms Kelsey’s lawyers’ fees were substantial.

He said he was already being investigated when the council terminated Ms Kelsey, which launched an investigation into all eight councillors.

“Even though I was not part of the council vote to terminate Ms Kelsey, I was also charged as the CCC were claiming I instigated the termination due to her making complaints,” Mr Smith said.

“This is when the CCC launched their early morning raid with officers jumping fences and confiscating phones. We were then sacked in May 2019 after eight of us were charged with an integrity offence.

“The seven councillors who put their own interests aside and voted to terminate Ms Kelsey did so out of community interest and should now be getting an apology and a thank you.”

Mr Smith said he was ridiculed by the media, state government ministers and members from Logan, political opposition, some community people and four councillors.

He is still fighting perjury and corruption charges in Brisbane’s Supreme Court.

The sacked former mayor of Logan City Council Luke Smith has spoken out for the first time about his termination after a ruling from an Industrial Court this week brought a four-year case to an end.

Ms Kelsey, the Logan CEO from 2017 to 2018, sued the council, the former mayor Luke Smith and seven councillors after she failed a probationary period of employment and was terminated.

The sacked chief executive then unsuccessfully sued Logan City Council for dismissing her.

She claimed the councillors were “improperly motivated” when terminating her employment after she gave the Crime and Corruption Commission information about Mr Smith.

After losing her case in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission in April 2021, Ms Kelsey lodged an improperly made appeal before applying to amend that appeal application.

She lost her initial appeal in the Industrial Court in May before lodging an application to amend her appeal.

A sacked ex-Logan City council chief executive Sharone Kelsey, pictured, has failed in her bid to overturn a court ruling which cleared the council of unlawfully dismissing her, paving the way for multimillion-dollar cost payouts. Former Logan mayor Luke Smith speaks out after the Industrial Court ruling.

Justice Davis’s decision this week will bring to an end the four-year court saga now that Ms Kelsey has exhausted all her legal options.

In his ruling, Justice Davis said her appeal “was bound to fail” as there was no basis to upset critical findings against her.

“Notwithstanding those insurmountable obstacles, Ms Kelsey proceeded and put the respondents to what is obviously very considerable expense,” he wrote.

“In my view, Ms Kelsey ought pay the costs of the respondents of the application and the appeal, including reserved costs and the costs of determining the costs question.”

Under the court order, Ms Kelsey will have to pay the court costs for seven councillors who employed lawyers from McInnes Wilson, along with Logan council’s legal fees for lawyers at King and Co.