Mark Furner refers Troy Thompson to parliamentary ethics committee

Former Townsville mayor Troy Thompson faces fresh scrutiny after being referred to the parliamentary ethics committee over alleged unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.

Troy Thompson has been referred to the parliamentary ethics committee after he allegedly disclosed Crime and Corruption Commission Parliamentary Committee information without authorisation.

Troy Thompson has been referred to the parliamentary ethics committee. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mr Thompson, who is under scrutiny due to claims he made during his first campaign for mayor of Townsville, has been investigated by the Crime and Corruption Commission.

The former suspended mayor continues to deny any wrongdoing.

At the Townsville Bulletin’s mayoral debate he confirmed he had misled the public, before later walking the statement back.

Speaking in parliament, head of the CCC parliamentary committee Mark Furner, said he was referring Mr Thompson to the ethics committee.

“The committee has determined to refer to the ethics committee, a matter involving the unauthorised disclosure of the committee’s confidential proceedings by former Townsville mayor Mr Troy Thompson,” he said.

The referral is understood to be in relation to Mr Thompson’s comments about his complaint to the CCC about Local Government Minister Ann Leahy.

In a statement, Mr Thompson said he made the complaint about the Minister who he claimed “acted improperly by sharing confidential investigation information with political figures — a process that directly led to my forced resignation as mayor”.

Mark Furner. Picture: Liam Kidston

“That complaint has since been the subject of a Queensland Police Service referral to the CCC to investigate both the Minister and the Premier (David Crisafulli) in relation to their involvement in this matter,” he said.

“My public comments — stating that the Minister, the CCC, and the Premier had ‘got it wrong’ — were made lawfully, truthfully, and in the public interest, to expose serious questions about executive interference and misuse of confidential information.”

Ms Leahy has previously rejected the claims made by Mr Thompson about herself and the Premier.

“Mr Thompson’s claims are unfounded and without any evidence,” she said.

He told the Bulletin that his actions “were consistent with those rights and with Standing Order 211A (4), which recognises that confidentiality is not absolute and may yield where transparency serves the public good”.

Minister for Local Government and Water and Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers Ann Leahy, parliament, Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Mr Thompson’s quoting of the standing orders, which are part of the Human Rights Act, is understood to be incorrect and it does not give him the ability to override or leak committee material.

Despite releasing this confidential information, Mr Thompson has refused to make public the contents of the report into the CCC investigation into him.

At the Townsville Bulletin debate earlier this week, Mr Thompson said there was no criminality alleged in the report.

“There’s a reason I haven’t been charged, it’s been used as political leverage and that’s all it is,” he said.

If Mr Thompson had been a member or helper of the parliamentary committee, which he is not, disclosure of the information could have been considered a criminal offence, and lead to jail time or a fine.

Originally published as Mark Furner refers Troy Thompson to parliamentary ethics committee