Under-fire watchdog loses fight with Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli
Queensland’s corruption watchdog has been dealt another embarrassing blow after its prosecution of former Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli was unsuccessful.
Queensland’s corruption watchdog has been dealt another embarrassing blow after its prosecution of former Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli proved to be unsuccessful.
The former policeman, who became mayor in 2017 after Paul Pisasale was charged with corruption offences, was found guilty of fraud in 2019 but the decision was overturned on appeal.
The Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the appeal but the Appeal Court on Tuesday ruled in favour of Mr Antoniolli.
It cemented another humiliating loss for the Crime and Corruption Commission in the wake of the dropping of charges against seven Logan councillors, the failure of several prosecutions in its investigation into Ipswich council, and the acquittal last week of former top cop Michelle Stenner who was facing a perjury charge.
CCC chair Alan MacSporran is facing calls to resign and his organisation to be overhauled over its handling of the pursuit of the Logan councillors.
A parliamentary inquiry into the Logan investigation, due to report back later this month, heard Mr MacSporran and the CCC was “resistant to scrutiny” and failed to accept there was a problem with his leadership.
Mr Antoniolli’s shock arrest in 2017, less than a year after he was elected, prompted the Palaszczuk government to sack the entire council. He was later arrested again while eating dinner with his family for allegedly breaching bail and forced to spend a night in the Ipswich watch-house.
The CCC had alleged that on 11 occasions during his time as a councillor on the Ipswich City Council, Mr Antoniolli had bid on items at charity auctions and paid for them with the council’s community donations fund.
In 2019, a magistrate found Mr Antoniolli guilty because he had known the council’s donations policy did not permit the use of the community fund to obtain a personal benefit. The magistrate found that the personal benefit obtained was to boost his profile as a councillor by engendering goodwill in the community.
Mr Antoniolli appealed against the decision and in December a District Court judge found the use of the council’s community donations fund to pay for charity auction items was not contrary to council policy. The evidence showed Mr Antoniolli reasonably believed that the practice was allowed, provided he did not benefit personally.
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