Crime watchdog calls for law reform after report finds ex-mayor lied
A damning corruption watchdog report has exposed claims made by deposed Townsville mayor Troy Thompson, and revealed he disclosed sensitive council documents to an external adviser.
Queensland’s crime watchdog is calling for urgent law reforms to expose election candidates who lie, after a damning investigation found disgraced former Townsville mayor Troy Thompson exaggerated his military career and there was no evidence of his claimed oesophageal cancer.
The Crime and Corruption Commission’s report into Mr Thompson, released late on Thursday, also found he did not finish university, as he claimed, and he repeatedly disclosed confidential and commercially sensitive council documents to an unauthorised external adviser.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington was last night considering the findings of the bombshell report, which recommended urgent legislative change to plug critical integrity gaps and ensure candidates are truthful about their qualifications with voters.
The recommendations include introducing a mechanism for candidates to declare qualifications and employment history, with a sanction for providing false information and a review of whether further regulation is required around private advisers.
The CCC sought advice about whether to launch corruption charges from the Director of Public Prosecutions, but none will be laid.
The report found there was little evidence to support several of the claims Mr Thompson made during the council election campaign, including that he once had oesophageal cancer.
The CCC reviewed his Medicare records, and according to the report found there was no evidence he had received a diagnosis between August 1, 2019 and November 25 2024. It noted that on March 2, 2024, Mr Thompson stated in a presentation to the Magnetic Island Residents and Ratepayers Association that he had been given an end date in 2021 and told to get his affairs in order.
The CCC said Mr Thompson’s cancer claims had varied but his more expansive commentary was that he had suffered from oesophageal cancer.
A witness told the CCC they recalled a Facebook post made around 2019 in which Mr Thompson had stated he was suffering from oesophageal cancer.
“This witness also recalled that a relative of Mr Thompson’s commented on the post challenging this assertion and noting that Mr Thompson was instead having complications from gastric band/lap band surgery and encouraged Mr Thompson to stop telling people he had cancer,” the CCC report states.
The CCC stated it could not find any evidence that Mr Thompson had been diagnosed with, or treated for, oesophageal cancer.
“The CCC obtained copies of Mr Thompson’s medical records from three medical centres and two hospitals, none of which record a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer or treatment for the same beyond Mr Thompson’s own self-reports when providing his medical history,” the CCC stated.
An investigation of Mr Thompson’s medical records, Medicare and pharmaceutical benefits claims “failed to identify any recent medical history of Mr Thompson being diagnosed or treated for oesophageal cancer”.
Instead, the records show that Mr Thompson had “post-gastric sleeve complications” and that he was referred to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in December 2020 for surgery related to the complication, which was causing “severe reflux”.
During the election campaign, Mr Thompson also made multiple claims about his time in the military, saying he was a signalman with “109 Signals, Karrakatta, Perth; 105 Signals, Fremantle; 152 Signals, Swanbourne”.
But the CCC concluded he was solely a reservist.
“Contrary to assertions made by Mr Thompson during the course of his election campaign, the evidence obtained by the CCC revealed he was only enlisted with the Australian Army for a period of two-and-a-half years, was solely a reservist, had never served with the 105 or 152 signals as claimed, and was never a member of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) of the Australian Army,” the report states.
The CCC found he did not have a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science as claimed and he did not hold any tertiary academic qualifications beyond some technical certificates.
He was enrolled at Griffith University in a Bachelor of Commerce degree for one semester, in 2006, passing two of the four subjects in which he was enrolled.
The investigation also found Mr Thompson disclosed highly confidential and commercially sensitive council documents to a private individual, an undeclared informal adviser, to whom he paid $5300 in personal funds.
The CCC seized 21 electronic devices, almost seven million electronic records and reviewed 8741 WhatsApp encrypted messages between Mr Thompson and the adviser, as well as 750 pages of printed e-mails and other material.
The CCC’s investigation found material apparently obtained from, or belonging to the council in the possession of the adviser and determined that Mr Thompson gave confidential information and documents to that person.
In messages between the two, Mr Thompson asked the adviser for advice on how to get the then acting CEO Joe McCabe to resign and withdraw his application for the full-time position.
In response, the adviser provided Mr Thompson with a draft media release and letter that was then sent out to councillors attempting to get them to back Mr Thompson under threat of the council’s dissolution.
“I think we kick Joe in the balls, then punch the councillors in the guts ... later on, and we see how they cope,” the adviser wrote to Mr Thompson.
The CCC report states that it began investigating allegations that Mr Thompson had allegedly negotiated, without authority, a severance payment to then-CEO Prins Ralston upon his resignation.
After investigating the matter, the CCC concluded that Mr Thompson sought, was provided, and acted in accordance with advice given, and his actions were within the scope of his lawful authority.
Mr Thompson, who was suspended on full pay during the investigation before resigning and losing a subsequent by-election, said he had always made his position absolutely clear in regards to the investigation and its findings.
“I have not committed any misconduct or criminal offence. I have said this from day one, and the facts now support that position,” he said.
“I reject any suggestion that I intentionally misled anyone about my medical history. The CCC’s comments reflect only the material they obtained for the purpose of their investigation, not the entirety of my personal medical history over many years.”
He said two of the four parts of the investigation were dismissed early with no further action required.
He declined to be interviewed by the CCC during the investigation.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the government would consider the report and its recommendations.
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Originally published as Crime watchdog calls for law reform after report finds ex-mayor lied
