Toowoomba former councillors Joe Ramia, Anne Glasheen call for accountability over Kerry Shine photo scandal

A growing number of former Toowoomba councillors have called for accountability within the organisation amid the fallout of a leaked photograph scandal that has plagued the leadership team.

Councillor Kerry Shine during a council meeting to discuss the future of Toowoomba City Aerodrome (also know as Toowoomba Airport), Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Toowoomba Regional Council is being pressured to investigate a scandal that saw a secret photo of a sitting councillor leaked onto social media, as the official in question tries to reform the TRC’s code of conduct in response to it.

A growing number of former councillors have called for accountability within the organisation over the picture, which depicts councillor Kerry Shine asleep in his chair during a meeting.

The photo of Mr Shine, which The Chronicle has seen but chosen not to publish, surfaced on social media just weeks before March council elections, with multiple insiders suggesting it was designed to discredit him.

Mayor Geoff McDonald and councillors at the time Melissa Taylor, Carol Taylor, James O’Shea, Bill Cahill, Edwina Farquhar, Megan O’Hara Sullivan (now former) and Tim McMahon have all said they didn’t take the photo or were aware of its existence before it appeared on social media.

Deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff was also asked, however provided a response, but did not address the specific question.

“We are working really well for the community, so our focus is on the work,” she said at the time.

“It is a new term and with new terms come new opportunities, and we’re working beautifully with the opportunities.”

There were only two changes to the line-up of councillors at the March 17 election, with Gary Gardner and Trevor Manteufel replacing Ms Sommerfield and Ms O’Hara Sullivan.

So far, no one has owned up to either taking or distributing the photograph.

Former councillor Anne Glasheen

Former councillors Anne Glasheen and Joe Ramia have now joined recent ex-councillor Ms O’Hara Sullivan in expressing their disappointment at the incident, with all three calling for the person who took the photo to step forward so the community can move forward with confidence in the council’s leadership team.

Earlier this week Ms O’Hara Sullivan said Toowoomba Mayor Geoff McDonald should be taking charge to find who in his ranks had taken the “apalling” photograph.

“In this day and age when bullying and workplace culture are at the forefront of every business it is beggars belief that this happened,” Mr Glasheen echoed on social media.

“How can they say they are united when you can’t trust the person sitting beside you.

“To change the culture of an organisation it has to start at the top.

“The person who took the photo needs to stand up and apologise for their unacceptable behaviour.”

Mr Ramia, who served two terms on the amalgamated council between 2008 and 2020, said he believed transparency was required for the benefit of the boardroom and the community.

Former ouncillor Joe Ramia.

“It’s very disappointing that one of Kerry’s colleagues would circulate this — we’re all human and we all make mistakes, so why someone chose to circulate that is very disappointing,” he said.

“Maybe someone should be held accountable, but it’s up to Kerry (to pursue it).

“Whoever took that photo should really step up to the mark and say ‘I did that’, (because) what really takes the heart out of a council is when something like this happens.

“They should say, ‘I took that and I’m sorry’, because they’ve all got to work together.”

Mr Shine remained resolute in his decision not to make a complaint, however said he intended to suggest changes to the way council operates to prevent another person becoming victim to the act that has been described by many in the business community and city’s leadership as malicious.

“If we adopted some code of conduct measure to include banning the taking of photos in the future, that’s something I’ll bring up shortly,” he said.

“Most of the members of the community are more concerned addressing their wants and needs than how we behave — they’d prefer we’re above this.

“We’re all human beings and we all make mistakes and overall I’ve worked in worse (professional) situations than this one.”

Mayor Geoff McDonald this week reaffirmed his belief the matter was resolved, in response to calls from Ms O’Hara Sullivan for him or the chief executive Brian Pidgeon to investigate the incident.

“I spoke to councillor Shine, who told what he wanted to do — he’s happy to move on, he wants us to work together and that’s what we’re doing,” Mr McDonald said on Tuesday.