Troy Thompson’s bid to oust Townsville City Council reaches parliament

Troy Thompson’s bid to have the Townsville City Council has reached parliament, but his battle isn’t over yet. DETAILS.

Troy Thompson’s petition has reached the parliament.

Embattled politician Troy Thompson’s continuing attempts to bring down the Townsville City Council are floundering.

The suspended mayor is suing council CEO Joe McCabe and chief legal officer David Sewell for $1m, claiming he was subjected to discrimination for reasons that included his mental health and epilepsy.

The respected public servants firmly reject the allegations.

Thompson, suspended by the state government on full pay for 12 months late last year, is under investigation by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) for allegedly lying about his university qualifications and his military service.

He has rejected all suggestions of untruths.

Currently, the CCC would not be able to release any findings to the public, if any were made.

Clerk of parliament Neil Laurie has sponsored Troy Thompson’s petition. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

However, the state government is working to bolster the powers of the CCC, and restore their ability to release integrity reports.

The legislation has been introduced to parliament, but is yet to be enacted.

Despite Thompson facing a multitude of allegations about his history as well as deeply troubling concerns about his history of domestic violence involving at least one alleged victim, the deeply unpopular politician has continued to use social media to snipe from the sidelines.

In a deleted post, Thompson – who was using the surname Birnbrauer at the time – has previously made a confession on his Facebook page about a past ‘DV issue’.

Thompson said it was a result of a misunderstanding, and there was never any violence.

No convictions have been recorded.

Thompson, who was booted from One Nation before he was able to contest the seat of Thuringowa in the 2020 state election, launched a change.org petition on May 15, his first, calling for the council to be sacked for a “proper restart”.

That petition has so far garnered less than 1000 signatures, more than 9000 short of the 10,000 target.

Not easily dissuaded, the highly controversial politician launched a formal E-petition in Queensland parliament, sponsored by the Clerk of the parliament.

Despite being officially lodged on May 26, Thompson has only managed to accumulate 789 signatures.

Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Troy Thompson’s bid to oust Townsville City Council reaches parliament