Townsville council: Kristian Price urges mayor to apologise over expensive gifts claims

A Townsville councillor has demanded the mayor apologise for unfounded accusations he accepted expensive gifts from a CEO candidate. But the mayor refused to budge, giving an update into his claims against his councillors.

Councillor Kristian Price at Wednesday’s Townsville City Council general meeting. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Townsville councillor Kristian Price has demanded the mayor apologise for accusations he accepted expensive gifts from a CEO candidate after the Office of the Independent Assessor dismissed the complaints.

In the ordinary council meeting on Wednesday, Mr Price identified himself among the three councillors accused of misconduct by Mayor Troy Thompson, who made claims at a press conference and on social media they had accepted gifts including Cowboys tickets and a yacht trip.

Mr Price told council chambers the claims were false, and the mayor had not made efforts to correct his allegations even after the council’s legal officer and OIA cleared them.

Numerous comments including from The Climate Change Party endorsed Mr Thompson’s stance at the expense of the rest of the council, which remain published, while others criticised the Bulletin for not covering it fairly.

Mr Thompson did not take questions at his press conference, he did not alert the Bulletin he was making a statement until it was too late to attend and the council’s chief legal officer David Sewell dismissed the claims and said the mayor was at risk of defamation action.

“The resultant damage to my reputation has been considerable, with many community members coming up to me in the streets and openly questioning my integrity and character,” Mr Price said.

“Transparency and honesty are essential, and I urge you to ensure that any future accusations

are supported with factual evidence and reported to the appropriate authority.

“I trust that you will take appropriate action to rectify this matter and restore the trust of the community.”

Mayor Troy Thompson at Wednesday’s Townsville City Council general meeting. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Mr Thompson did not identify the specific councillors directly in his statements less than two weeks ago, but comments and a photograph on his social media post identified Mr Price, even after the council’s legal office denounced such claims as untrue.

Mr Price directed his statement to the mayor that he accepted the yacht trip as part of the Townsville Multisport World Championships, which Mr Thompson was initially invited to participate in.

“As you could not attend, the invite then followed standard procedures to find a representative, which meant the invite was offered to the deputy mayor, then the divisional councillor and finally other available councillors,” Mr Price said.

“So in fact, me on the yacht was to represent council as a direct result of you, and your inability, to attend.”

During Mr Price’s address to council chambers, Mr Thompson opened his phone and appeared to be looking at text messages, also smirking throughout, handwriting notes and looking amused.

Mayor Troy Thompson during Councillor Kristian Price’s address to Townsville City Council’s general meeting. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Mr Thompson did not take the opportunity to apologise to any councillors.

“I have been contacted by the OIA and I’ve asked for it to be reopened and reinvestigated with other items, so I can’t comment any further on that but thank you for bringing that to the attention of the meeting,” Mr Thompson said.

Only days before he made the claims, Mr Thompson emailed councillors and demanded they support his 19 conditions and respect his authority, or he would urge the Local Minister Meaghan Scanlon to dissolve the council.

Instead of quietly falling into line, councillors such as Liam Mooney publicly called out the mayor’s actions, and Ms Scanlon instead announced a state-appointed adviser who is expected to attend council meetings in coming weeks.

A Crime and Corruption Commission inquiry is being conducted against Mr Thompson relating to claims he misrepresented the public in his election campaign about his military history and education qualifications, as well as a number of campaign donations.

Premier Steven Miles and opposition leader David Crisafulli have several time stated that Mr Thompson’s position is “untenable” and needs to stand aside while the CCC holds its inquiry.

Originally published as Townsville council: Kristian Price urges mayor to apologise over expensive gifts claims