Premier seeks legal advice to oust Townsville mayor Troy Thompson; city ‘can’t wait’ for CCC

Queensland Premier Steven Miles is seeking legal advice into how he can oust embattled Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson in an 11th hour move before the government moves into caretaker mode.

Embattled Townsville mayor Troy Thompson. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles is seeking legal advice into how he can oust embattled Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson in an 11th hour move before the government heads into caretaker mode.

Government insiders told the Bulletin repeated visits to Townsville by the Premier had made it clear the city was “unable to function” with Mr Thompson as mayor.

While Mr Miles and Local Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon have repeatedly said they were awaiting the outcome of an ongoing Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into Mr Thompson before taking further action, sources say it’s become evident the city cannot wait for a result indefinitely.

The mayor is currently being investigated after he misled the public on his military, university and business qualifications, as well as a number of election campaign donations

It is understood the government had received advice the CCC investigation could take more than a year.

A spokeswoman for the Premier confirmed they had taken steps on Thursday.

“Late this afternoon the government moved to seek legal advice regarding the Townsville Mayor’s position,” she said.

“The Premier has been clear that Queensland leaders are held to a high standard and should meet community expectations while executing their duties.”

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has sought legal advice into the Townsville mayor’s position. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

It is unclear how quickly the government could step in, given they move into caretaker mode on Tuesday, however it is understood they could issue a show cause notice within days to enforce Mr Thompson to stand down — with pay — until the CCC outcome is known.

Last month during Townsville’s Bush Summit, Mr Miles reiterated his calls for the mayor to resign.

“I have said he (Mr Thompson) should go, I have said that if he cares about Townsville ... the best thing for Townsville is for him to stand aside and for us to get a mayor without that cloud,” Mr Miles said.

“I’ve been very clear on my thoughts, which is that Townsville and the Townsville region is just too important to our state and to our state’s economy.”

Since being the subject of the CCC investigation, his attempt to sue his own council for $100,000 and his continued public outbursts and OIA complaints against his councillors and acting CEO, Mr Thompson has rarely been seen engaging with any state or federal leaders who have visited the city.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli last week called for an examination of the Local Government Act to find any flaws that enabled the appointment of Mr Thompson to begin with.

“For the sake of the city and the order of the council my view is the mayor shouldn’t be in that position,” Mr Crisafulli said in Townsville.

Originally published as Premier seeks legal advice to oust Townsville mayor Troy Thompson; city ‘can’t wait’ for CCC