Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister Steven Miles requests advice from his department
Mayor Tom Tate reveals he’s personally reached out to murder-accused councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden in a bid to ‘catch up’. Read what he wrote and a further decision on his council spot
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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says he’ll aim to meet with murder-accused councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden as soon as he gets bail - if that occurs.
On Thursday Cr Tate said the councillor would remain the Division 7 representative while facing a charge he allegedly killed his stepdad.
Mr Bayldon-Lumsden was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday night. His lawyer Jason Murakami of Behlau Murakami Grant has said he will be pleading not guilty to murder and would be making an urgent bail application in the Supreme Court.
Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister Steven Miles said he had requested advice from his department and will consider a range of actions in the coming days, from the councillor taking leave to being sacked.
“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and so that’s an important principle of law we need to consider but we also need to take into account the needs of the constituents in that division,” the Deputy Premier said.
Mr Miles also revealed Mr Tate had contacted the state government seeking advice related to the 30-year-old’s position on the council.
On Friday, Mr Tate said he had written to Mr Bayldon-Lumsden but had not heard back yet.
“We’re waiting for the bail hearing and if there’s not bail, well obviously he won’t be able to do his councillor duties and if there’s bail then he and I will meet. At the moment my concern is his mental fitness and he’ll be feeling it being in the watch house.
“I’d rather him concentrate on the bail hearing after that you know if he’s out I’d want to have a catch up, see how he’s feeling and really be in a support mode of how he can get through this with him and his family,” Mr Tate said.
Mr Miles added: “There are a number of options depending on how the legal proceedings play out so we will allow that to occur first and then I will get advice from my department about what steps we need to take.
“It largely depends what happens with the court process so there are different possible outcomes and actions depending on whether he was held in custody, whether he was released on bail, or what the next steps of the process are.”
The Deputy Premier said the actions to be taken range from Cr Bayldon-Lumsden taking leave, to suspension with pay, suspension without pay, through to disqualification.
But he said alleged murder was not an offence listed under the Electoral and Other Legislation Act to immediately trigger disqualification.
“We have had other mayors and councillors charged with similar offences and later found not guilty.
“The questions here that need to be considered are the principle of innocence until proven guilty alongside the principle that those residents need to, and should be, presented in their council.”
When asked if this was a suitable option under the legislation given the seriousness of the offence, Mr Miles said “hard and fast rules like that” risk ignoring individual circumstances.
“We have had other mayors and councillors charged with similar offences and later found not guilty,” the Deputy Premier said.
“The questions here that need to be considered are the principle of innocence until proven guilty alongside the principle that those residents need to, and should be, presented in their council.
“They’re the kinds of things we will take into account and the legal process will determine to what extent that councillor can continue to serve.”
Mayor reveals what now for first-term councillor accused of murder
Murder-accused Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden will remain a city councillor while facing charges he allegedly killed his stepfather.
City leaders have received high-level legal advice around the 30-year-old’s position after he was arrested on Wednesday. Mr Bayldon-Lumsden’s lawyer Jason Murakami said on Thursday he would be pleading not guilty.
Mayor Tom Tate said, following consultation with council CEO Tim Baker, Mr Bayldon-Lumsden would remain in office for the time being.
The Division 7 council office has been closed.
Mr Tate said he was “devastated” by the alleged events of Wednesday.
“Of course we are shocked, condolences to the family and the issue is that he is innocent before being proven guilty,” he said.
“Whether he gets bail or not, that will determine the direction the city will take and in the interim I will write to the Deputy Premier (Steven Miles) who is the Local Government Minister and ask him for advice because the power rests with him in terms of options for councillor Bayldon-Lumsden.”
Mr Tate insisted Division 7 was not vacant and no decisions had been taken about filling the post.
“It’s not vacant, he is still a councillor and if he is on bail, he is currently a councillor,” he said.
“The question to ask is, can he carry out his council duties and if he cannot then we make the next move on what we do with Division 7,” Mr Tate said.
It’s understood that, if Mr Bayldon-Lumsden resigns from office or it is declared vacant, a new councillor would be appointed to serve the unexpired months of his term in office ahead of March’s council election.
It comes just weeks after councillors replaced Cameron Caldwell in Division 4 after his election to federal parliament.
Mr Tate struggled to speak about the personal impact, saying he would get “quite emotional” but praised Mr Bayldon-Lumsden for his work as a councillor.
“I hold him in the highest esteem and anyone who has a work colleague who you hold like that, you have to be a robot not to feel sad about it,” he said.
“He never created an enemy in this political world and it is understandable that people are shocked.
“He is well-loved and I am always happy to be with him in Division 7.
“(Becoming a councillor) was a big learning curve for him but he picked it up well.
“ He has the full respect of all councilors.”
Support is being offered to council staff.
The Mayor statements come as friends and colleagues of councillor Bayldon-Lumsden expressed shock after the body of a man in his 50s was discovered at the councillor’s family home.
The man’s body was found on Wednesday afternoon at a house of Chiffley Place, Arundel. It was declared a crime scene after police attended on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Bayldon-Lumsden, a first-term councillor popular with constituents and colleagues, was charged with the murder of his mother’s de facto parter late on Wednesday night.
City councillors say they were left dumbstruck.
“I just cannot believe it. I’m devastated that this has happened,” one colleague said on Wednesday night.
“He’s a good guy who is very conscientious and has made his mark since we were elected in 2020.
“It’s just terribly sad.”
Neighbour Kim Thompson said: “My first fear was something had happened to Ryan - because he’s a lovely, lovely man and I didn’t want anything to happen to him. I was relieved when I saw him alive.
“We’ve been here 17 years and they have been here the whole time. So we have seen Ryan and his younger sister grow up from little. We never had much to do with the mum and dad. He’s never interacted but been there the whole time.
“But Ryan and his sister were always very active out in the street. My daughter and his sister used to play in the street a lot.”
Ms Thompson said despite police being called to the house for a disturbance “I was home all day and didn’t hear a thing”.
“The neighbour who lives opposite me which is next to their house said they didn’t hear anything either.”
Mr Bayldon-Lumsden, a teetotaller and former schoolteacher jumped to prominence on the political scene in 2020 when, at just 27, he became the youngest councillor to be elected in the city’s history.
But the LNP member had long been making headlines before that.
He was born and grew up on the Gold Coast alongside his sister Ruth and attended Arundel State School and The Southport School (TSS) where he excelled at sport and won awards for his community service.
He played rugby league at Runaway Bay, did martial arts including Kung fu and Jiu jitsu.
In 2009, when he was just 16 years, he received a 2009 Queensland Young Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with disabled youth.
“I get a fair bit of praise. People think I’m a good person for doing the work I do, but it’s just fun and I like doing it,” he said at the time
“I enjoy seeing how excited the people I help get when they see me.
“You build a relationship and it makes you feel pretty good.”
At the time he was the University of Queensland’s youngest pharmacy student.
A decade later he was working as a teacher at TSS and a respite carer when he announced in October 2019 he would contest the 2020 council election in the new Division 7. Covering Labrador, Arundel and Parkwood.
He ultimately spent more than $43,111 on his successful political tilt and was sworn into office in April 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since being elected he has taken on several prominent community issues including saving tinnies at the Labrador foreshore from removal, development on the northern Gold Coast, the Arundel Hills Country Club redevelopment and illegal dumping.
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