Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has shut down his two Facebook pages ‘indefinitely’
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has shut down his Facebook pages, which had thousands of followers. Find out why
Council
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GOLD Coast mayor Tom Tate has used the Christmas period to quietly step back from Facebook deleting his two accounts “indefinitely”.
The mayor operated two separate accounts — an official page and a personal page — both of which had thousands of follows.
Those pages are now no longer available on the site and it is not clear when they will be back.
“Everyone deserves a holiday, even my face from Facebook,” Cr Tate said.
“My personal site, and official Mayoral social media site, will be switched off for now.”
Sources told the Bulletin the decision was also linked to strict new misconduct guidelines which all councillors need to abide by.
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The guidelines, introduced on December 3, mean any perceived misconduct can result in mayors and councillors being referred the Local Government Discipline and Remuneration Tribunal.
The tougher Code of Conduct includes provisions that councillors must “treat people in a reasonable, just, respectful and non-discriminatory way”.
Sources said it was “too hard” for Facebook conversations to remain “spirited” with the threat of misconduct referrals present.
Earlier this month Cr Tate was fined after the Tribunal upheld a complaint for a post the mayor made about Mudgeeraba councillor Glenn Tozer in February.
Cr Tate was also ordered to attend counselling “about his misconduct and how not to repeat it”, with a focus on “appropriate use of social media by councillors”