Ipswich Deputy Mayor Jacob Madsen accused of ‘inappropriate conduct’ found in the clear

Allegations of ‘inappropriate conduct’ against the deputy mayor of a large southeast Queensland council have been dismissed.

Councillors Jacob Madsen and Sheila Ireland and Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann pose for a photo regarding a media release, which resulted in a complaint against the deputy mayor. PICTURE: Contributed

Ipswich City Council has made a decision about allegations of inappropriate conduct by Deputy Mayor Jacob Madsen, brought to them by the Office of the independent Assessor (OIA).

A statement from OIA to Ipswich City Council stated it received on December 1, 2022 two complaints regarding Cr Madsen’s conduct in relation to breaching the council’s media and communications policy.

The complaints surrounded a media release about planned bridge upgrades in the region, which included comments from Cr Madsen, as well as Cr Sheila Ireland and the Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann.

Cr Madsen’s comments were on behalf of the council, rather than specifically his division.

The comment in question: “The Ipswich City Council 2022-23 Budget included more than $4.6 million in council funding for these essential upgrades and this Federal Government contribution will ensure the projects can go ahead”. It appeared in two separate news publications in October.

The OIA referred the matter to the council, noting his comments should have been only in relation to Division 1 and should have also been dealt with through the council’s media and communications team.

Ipswich City Council Deputy Mayor Jacob Madsen.

When declaring his conflict of interest in the meeting, indicating he would need to step out while the matter was dealt with, Cr Madsen was asked by Mayor Teresa Harding if he had discussed the matter with his colleagues, to which Cr Madsen became immediately agitated asking: “What are you alleging?”

Ultimately, she was also found to have a conflict of interest and was required to leave the meeting.

Councillors determined, that after investigation, Cr Madsen had not engaged in inappropriate conduct and had the right to make the comments as per the Human Rights Act 2019 and the right to freedom of speech and expression.

Cr Paul Tully also noted the allegations the OIA had made against Cr Madsen were in some ways false.

“The comments made by Cr Madsen were permitted … the policy does not preclude councillors from making their own statements or comments which may conflict with councils position ensuring that their comments are not portrayed by them as the official view of council,” he said.

“Cr Madsen’s comments did not conflict with any council position, indeed they supported it.

“It is further alleged that Cr Madsen should have referred any request for a media statement to the ICC’s media team, however there is nothing in the media policy which requires this.”

Cr Nicole Jonic, who has had previous allegations of misconduct of a different nature against her, said she found the “wasted time” “disgusting”.

“I think that this complaint in itself is such a waste of ratepayers’ time, money and patience. That we are subjected to this type of behaviour in any way takes away our time to do what we are here to do,” she said.

“I think this is a complete waste of time and resources and I don’t want to be gagged by the policy being misinterpreted.”

Originally published as Ipswich Deputy Mayor Jacob Madsen accused of ‘inappropriate conduct’ found in the clear