Ipswich Council picked up the rubbish, and a trophy or two

Hundreds of items of sporting memorabilia have been found by administrators sent in to run the corrupt Ipswich Council.

Ipswich City Council interim administrator Greg Chemello with memorabilia. Picture: Glenn Hunt

When it came to spending ratepayers’ money, the former Ipswich City Council didn’t stop at emptying rubbish bins and mowing the ovals.

The corruption-plagued council also built up one of the nation’s biggest collections of sporting memorabilia.

A signed Don Bradman cricket bat, Muhammad Ali boxing gloves and a garden gnome are among the 700 items accumulated over years of maladministration.

The council’s interim administrator, appointed after the councillors and mayor were sacked last year following a corruption investigation, has asked for public input on what to do with the collection.

Garnered from wall mounts, storage cupboards, floors and corners of multiple council buildings, the hoard includes signed jerseys, artworks, street signs, photographs and a porcelain doll.

The council has ordered a valuation on the collection, believed to be worth tens of thousands of dollars. But the amount of ratepayer money spent could be significantly higher, with a court hearing last month former Ipswich councillors would place outrageously high bids on auction items to garner public admiration.

Interim administrator Greg Chemello said record keeping of the objects — when or where they were bought, by whom, and for how much — was poor or non-existent. “It is likely that quite a few of them were bought at charity auctions but it’s possible others were bought or received in different circumstances, some as gifts,” Mr Chemello said.

“Given the circumstances are vague, we don’t know whether the items were overpriced. But we do know it’s probably a good idea to do something with them that the people are happy with.”

The council believes most of the items were purchased with ratepayer funds — some likely for much higher than the asking price — while others were received as gifts by councillors or staff.

Ratepayers have been asked to make suggestions as to what to do with the collection.

“These items belong to the people of Ipswich. So who better to discuss the best course of action for these things? People might want to put them on display somewhere, or give them away, or sell them,” Mr Chemello said.

“It’s a discussion which for now is best left up to those whose money was used to buy them.”

The Crime and Corruption Commission’s inquiry detected “significant governance failures and cultural issues” and resulted in 16 people being charged with 87 criminal offences. Seven of those charged were employed by the council, including two mayors, two chief executives and a chief operating officer.

Former mayor Andrew Antoniolli is awaiting sentencing after he was this month convicted of fraud for buying dozens of auction items with council money.