Ann-Maree Greaney elected Townsville acting mayor while Troy Thompson on suspension
New acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney vows there will be a “united front’ within the Townsville City Council, after Paul Jacob stepped down from the position.
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Townsville’s new Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney has vowed there will be a “united front” from councillors coming into the new year, as she was voted in as the city’s new leader while ousted mayor Troy Thompson serves his 12-month suspension.
And she also promised to fully dedicate herself to the role while also balancing the needs of Division 3.
Former Deputy Mayor Paul Jacob stood down from his position in a special council meeting on Tuesday, and Ms Greaney was nominated to fill in the role left by the 12 month paid suspension of Troy Thompson.
Ms Greaney will be paid the deputy mayor’s salary of $153,145, rather than matching Mr Thompson’s wage of $225,206 which he will continue to receive while on suspension.
Mr Jacob and his fellow Team Change member Vera Dirou voted against the decision to reinstate Ms Greaney, but she was elected two votes to seven.
Councillor Andrew Robinson previously indicated he would nominate for the acting mayor role but while he voted in a separate decision against Mr Jacob stepping down, he also voted in favour of Ms Greaney.
After the council meeting, Ms Greaney said her first priority would be reassuring Premier David Crisafulli, who had shown increased concern in the council’s dynamics, that the council would be getting back to work.
“What we’re trying to do is to have one spokesperson for the council and not everyone speaking and giving their opinions,” she said.
“As I said, we need to be a unified and collective group of councillors to deliver for the city and that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
She will also speak to chief executive Joe McCabe about significant projects that need further development and funding.
“We have a lot of projects that have been probably on hold for quite some time so I’ll be working through Christmas to get my ducks in a row, and heading into the new year with a strong sense of purpose of what Townsville needs,” Ms Greaney said.
“I would like to speak to the State Government and new State Members about what we need as a city in terms of big projects like the Haughton Pipeline, funding for Lansdown.
“We have a huge military presence coming into the city, Dance North celebrates its 40th birthday next year, all those sorts of things that we really, really need to get on top of.”
Ms Greaney represents a large division which includes the Central Business District, North Ward, Magnetic Island, Pallarenda, Garbutt and Mount St John.
But she said representing these areas would help in her acting mayoral capacity as she was also liasoning with vital infrastructure such as the Townsville Airport, the Port of Townsville, and the RAAF base.
While she was a supporter for a controversial paid parking rollout at The Strand which was defeated until there was a demonstrated need for it, Ms Greaney rejected suggestions she would reintroduce it in the near future.
“I don’t have a crystal ball (in) 12 months time, but what I’m saying here today is there will be no paid parking on The Strand while I am mayor,” she said.
She also rejected the view of being influenced or being contacted by former Mayor Jenny Hill.
“I haven’t seen Jenny Hill probably for the last five months,” Ms Greaney said.
Outside the council meeting five picketers gathered who protested Ms Greaney’s leadership, including Alan Sheret, the candidate who ran against her in the last election, and defeated state candidate for Thuringowa Steven Clare.
Mr Sheret is an Alligator Creek resident who has taken interest in Magnetic Island issues, which he claimed Ms Greaney was overlooking.
Councillors Brodie Phillips and Kristian Price pushed for a change of leadership by seeking a special council meeting.
Mr Phillips told the Bulletin as he walked past the picketers after the meeting that he was “satisfied” with the outcome, conceding city had suffered a “reputational hit” under the mayorship of Mr Thompson.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us to have a reset, refocus, and then we’re heading off to break shortly and come back in 2025 ready to continue providing the city’s great representation of needs,” he said.
“The community has the right to have their voice, I’ve had people also reach out to me in support of that decision, and put their support behind the councillors.
“I think most people know we’re here because we love the city and we want to give it the good representation it needs.”
Mr Jacob said he had a strong commitment to focus on the future and progress of the city, but said there was “no secret” that the leadership spill had caused “unnecessary tension”.
“However I am determined to move past these challenges and direct our energy towards constructive work that serves the community.”
Mr Jacob said he was looking forward to working collaboratively with the council in the new year to foster growth and development.
Ms Dirou requested the opportunity to speak on her reasoning as to why she voted against Ms Greaney as a candidate, and said she believed Mr Jacob’s removal was “not aligned with the wishes of our community.”
She said it did not serve the best interests of the community to bring the motion ahead of Mr Jacob’s 12 month term which was set to be completed in April.
“I truly hope I am wrong with my assessment and that in time this decision will prove to be a positive step forward for our community,” she said.
Thuringowa MP Natalie Marr encouraged residents to “get behind your councillors” and to speak to them more about their concerns within the community.
Ms Marr said she had spoken to the new acting mayor, who was “very aware” of what would be expected from her.
“It’s embarrassing for the residents to know that they have a council that they feel is not functioning how it should be,” Ms Marr said.
“This has been going on for far too long, and as a state government we have very high expectations from our local government to perform for the residents of their city.”
She said the Local Government Minister Ann Leahy was “keeping a very close eye on Townsville” and that they had spoken of the council’s performance recently during parliament week.
9.45am: Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney has been elected unopposed as acting mayor after Mr Jacob stood down.
Because of a past decision by the council made early in the year, Ms Greaney was able to chair the council meeting with Mr Jacob standing down.
Cr Kristian Price said on June 19 the council agreed to have Ms Greaney as a replacement if Mr Jacob stood down, and therefore on that basis he nominated her.
There was only one nomination for the role, which was Ms Greaney.
Mr Jacob and Ms Dirou voted against.
Ms Dirou requested that she offer reason why she voted no.
She said she was “disappointed” with the motion believing that it was “not aligned with the wishes of our community.”
She said it did not serve the best interests of the community to bring the motion ahead of Mr Jacob’s 12 month term which was set to be completed in April.
“I truly hope I am wrong with my assessment and that in time this decision will prove to be a positive step forward for our community.”
There was applause from the public gallery once she spoke.
Ms Greaney then gave a speech, saying the public voted for their councillors to “champion” the community’s interests.
She said “it should be clear” despite difference of opinion that they were all unified for the betterment of the community.
Ms Greaney said she acknowledged councillors and staff for moving forward “during a difficult time” but that focus needed to be put back on the ratepayers and the community.
She also sought to reassure the Premier David Crisafulli and Local Government Minister Ann Leahy that they were committed to the betterment of the community.
9.35am: Townsville councillors are in the process of voting for a new deputy mayor and person who will lead the city forward while ousted mayor Troy Thompson is on a 12-month suspension.
Paul Jacob chaired the meeting and called the meeting open, declaring a leave of absence for Kurt Rehbein, reducing the vote count down to nine with the suspension of Troy Thompson.
Mr Jacob offered the first motion which was that the deputy mayor office was declared open.
He called for speakers for and against, with Division 2 councillor Brodie Phillips speaking for it, saying the past seven months had been difficult.
The city had suffered a political hit and Mr Phillips said they needed to do much work to repair it.
“We need to ensure that the person who gets us through this and commits to the role in its entirety,” he said.
“We need someone who supports and empowers councillors in their role, someone who covers all aspects of this community whether it be large scale international investment right down to the importance of our small community events.”
Mr Jacob said he had a strong commitment to focus on the future and progress of the city, but said there was “no secret” that the leadership spill had caused “unnecessary tension”.
“However I am determined to move past these challenges and direct our energy towards constructive work that serves the community.”
Mr Jacob said he was looking forward to working collaboratively with the council in the new year to foster growth and development.
All but Vera Dirou and Andrew Robinson voted for the office to be declared vacant, bringing the vote 7-2.
9am: Councillors are preparing for a special council meeting in which they are likely to elect a new deputy mayor who would take the reins while Mayor Troy Thompson is suspended.
The special meeting is open to the public this morning and according to the agenda has two motions; which is to declare that the deputy mayor role is vacant, and that a new deputy mayor needs to be chosen.
Paul Jacob currently serves as acting mayor but according to the agenda’s motion means is likely to stand down from the role.
Division 3 councillor Ann-Maree Greaney previously declared she would contest for the deputy mayor role, and therefore the acting mayor position, and is most likely to have the majority within the chamber.
However, Division 8 councillor Andrew Robinson also had said that he would consider throwing his hat in the ring if Mr Jacob was to step down or was voted out.
‘Old ways’: Acting Mayor silent as leadership spill looms
Townsville’s Acting Mayor Paul Jacob has been silent for more than a week, unable to be contacted to clarify his position about a leadership spill scheduled to happen in a special council meeting.
It is speculated that Mr Jacob will agree to step down from his position in Tuesday’s special meeting following a confidential workshop last week, but the city’s acting leader was unable to be reached by media to confirm this despite having run on an election platform of transparency.
While unavailable to the media, Mr Jacob was quoted as Acting Mayor in a council press release related to a sporting community event on Monday.
Division 3 councillor Ann-Maree Greaney and Division 8 councillor Andrew Robinson are prospective contenders who were also unable to be reached for contact the day before the special meeting.
Meanwhile, as elected councillors remain silent, suspended Mayor Troy Thompson continues to rant on his social media claiming that councillors who ran as independents were showing signs of joining a faction.
He said it showed a return to the “old ways” of closed discussions in the former council led by former mayor Jenny Hill.
Mr Thompson predicted Ms Greaney would have the majority vote in the council chamber to lead the city in an acting capacity, believing she would have the support of former incumbents Suzy Batkovic, Liam Mooney as well as independent first-termers Kristian Price, Brady Ellis, and Brodie Phillips.
Mr Price would not comment after the workshop, but said previously that while he had not fully decided, was inclined to lean towards supporting Ms Greaney.
Six weeks ago it was understood that councillors were gathering supporters internally to oust Mr Jacob from his deputy mayor position, before Mr Thompson was suspended by Local Government Minister Ann Leahy.
At the time Mr Jacob downplayed a prospective challenging, saying it was possible but that “I don’t think it would occur” given current circumstances within the council.
But after visiting Canberra as part a lobbying delegation, and when recovering from Covid, a meeting was held between the acting mayor and other councillors, who he said pushed him into standing down.
Mr Jacob agreed to stand down at the time, and two councillors, one of which was Division 2’s Brodie Phillips, called for a special council meeting to determine a new deputy mayor.
But Mr Jacob changed his mind, believing there were not good enough grounds for him to give up his position.
“They’ve used the exit of Troy to do this,” Mr Jacob said.
Recently, Division 10 councillor Brady Ellis responded on social media to ‘weird misinformation’ by claiming the council was only determining who the deputy mayor would be.
“We’re not replacing the mayor; when the time comes, you’ll be able to vote on who the mayor is again,” he said.
But whoever would be in the deputy mayor role would be serving in an acting mayoral capacity.
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Originally published as Ann-Maree Greaney elected Townsville acting mayor while Troy Thompson on suspension
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