Spouse slams Noosa Council online over 'scare campaign'

The husband of a Noosa Councillor has accused the local government of a 'year of scares'

Ingrid Jackson. Picture: Contributed

THE HUSBAND of a Noosa councillor has again bagged the local government, this time accusing it of "a year of scares”.

Keith Jackson publicly shamed Noosa Council in a social media post last Friday.

Mr Jackson accused the council of working hard to "smother Noosa's two biggest economic sectors - tourism and property” and sending the local community into "scare mode”.

He said council's response to daytrippers, Airbnb, over-tourism and the climate emergency needed to be "appropriate, intelligent and measured, not hysterical”.

"And the worst thing is that the council has not done its job by informing the community exactly how it intends to manage each of these challenges. It seems intent only on a continuing scare campaign,” Mr Jackson wrote.

"Is this how Mayor Wellington and his nodding councillors plan to campaign for re-election?”

The statement made no reference to his wife, Noosa councillor Ingrid Jackson.

It is not the first time Mr Jackson has negatively spoken about Noosa Council online.

In March, he accused Cr Jackson's fellow councillors of "bullying and humiliation” tactics against his wife in council meetings and labelled Noosa Council a "boys' club”.

At the time, Cr Jackson told the Daily she was not responsible for what her husband posted and did not want to comment further.

The Queensland Government's Office of Independent Assessor has social media guidelines to assist councillors manage their online presence.

Independent assessor Kathleen Florian said the OIA social media guidelines were not regulations but suggestions for councillors.

"Councillors are held to account by the Code of Conduct for Councillors under the Local Government Act,” Ms Florian said.

"However, the social media guidelines and the code do not apply to comments a councillor's relative may make on social media.”

Mayor Tony Wellington declined to comment.

Originally published as Spouse slams Noosa Council online over 'scare campaign'