Premier Steven Miles to suspend Townsville mayor Troy Thompson on eve of election campaign start

Queensland’s Premier is meeting with his cabinet about suspending Townsville’s embattled mayor Troy Thompson, saying Townsville has “stumbled” under his leadership.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles during a press conference in Brisbane on September 30. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Queensland Premier Steven Miles is currently meeting with his cabinet to discuss issuing a show cause notice in suspending Townsville’s embattled mayor Troy Thompson.

Speaking in Brisbane this morning, Mr Miles said he was “very concerned” watching the Townsville mayor unable to work with his councillors or community leaders.

“We’re still receiving legal advice on what processes might be available to us when it comes to Mr Thompson,” Mr Miles said.

“I’ve been absolutely consistent that I thought the best thing in Townsville’s interests would be for him to stand aside.

“He’s consistently refused to do so.”

Mr Miles met with community leaders as well as the local MPs, including Katter’s Australia Party deputy leader Nick Dametto, who all raised concerns about Mr Thompson.

“They all indicated to me that they thought the situation at council was getting worse, not better,” he said.

“I left there very concerned, and so we’ve been seeking legal advice since then.”

Mr Thompson is the subject of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation after he misled voters on his military, university and business qualifications, as well as accepting a number of campaign donations linked to property developers.

“The question was never whether we could act, it’s whether we should and the legal principle of innocence or proven guilty is important,” Mr Miles said.

“But last week, we received advice via the CCC that the process of that investigation could take many, many more months. And then I received advice that the situation at council appeared to be getting worse, not better.

“Those two pieces of information led me to the view that if we can act now, we should, and so that’s the legal advice that we’ve been seeking.”

Mayor Troy Thompson. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Mr Miles was aware of Mr Thompson’s social media pledge to seek a “Supreme Court injunction” to fight any move to oust him.

“Look, that’s something that would be open to him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does pursue those avenues,” Mr Miles said.

“I think that would be a shame for Townsville.”

The Premier said he wanted to give North Queensland a “certain path forward” in stepping in to suspend the mayor.

“Townsville is the most important regional city in Queensland, and we need it to be pumping,” Mr Miles said.

“It had been pumping up until the local government election, and unfortunately, the change of mayor there has really caused it to stumble.”

“ … we have put a lot into the Townsville economy these last 10 years, and it’s been successful because we’ve largely had three levels of government working together along with the local community and business leaders.

“We’ve really felt since the local government election, that that collaboration, that shared vision, has fallen away, and that is a risk to Townsville, a risk that’s too important to take.”

He said he had also consulted with the local MPs, including KAP’s Mr Dametto, over the saga.

“ … they all thought that if there was action that could be taken, it should be taken.”

Speaking in Cairns this morning, LNP Leader David Crisafulli said he had “not changed my opinion” about overhauling the Local Government Act to avoid a repeat in a mayor being elected in Queensland after embellishing his CV.

“I want to see the legislation. I want to see the legal advice. So I don’t want to comment about the specific bit of the legislation, but I want to make this comment,” he told reporters.

“I have said for a long time that this position is untenable.

“I know the frustration in that city, I’m seeing it, feeling it and about it from hearing from mates. I do believe his position is untenable.

Dysfunction ‘getting worse, not better’ under Thompson

Sunday 2.00pm: Premier Steven Miles will use his final act as Premier to issue a ‘show cause’ notice to oust embattled Townsville mayor Troy Thompson and potentially win over some North Queensland voters.

There is just one business day remaining before the State Government moves into caretaker mode on October 1, and it is understood Mr Miles will stand down the mayor before moving into campaign mode ahead of the October 26 election.

Government insiders on Sunday told the Bulletin they had not yet made contact with the mayor, but that the Premier’s office had received advice the dysfunction within Townsville City Council with Thompson at the helm was “getting worse, not better”.

Mr Thompson is currently the subject of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation after he misled voters on his military, university and business qualifications, as well as accepting a number of campaign donations linked to property developers.

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

“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 told media at last month’s Bush Summit.

Monday marks four months since all 10 Townsville councillors presented Mr Thompson with a vote of no confidence, following an embarrassing A Current Affair interview where the mayor apologised to the veteran community and blamed “100-plus concussions” for embellishing his CV.

Telling voters he had served in three units in the army, as well as the SAS, for “five or six years”, the Bulletin first revealed his true record of less than six months undertaking entry-level training within the army reserves over a period of two and a half years, largely as a cook.

It is understood that additional information “came to light” on Friday that saw the Premier seeking further legal advice into the government stepping in before the CCC investigation outcome is known, likely to be more than a year away.

Local Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon can exercise her powers to suspend or remove a councillor or mayor for a number of reasons, including if she “reasonably believes that a councillor is incapable of performing their responsibilities” or “it is otherwise in the public interest that a councillor be suspended or dismissed”.

In the general council meeting on June 5, councillors voted unanimously to ask Ms Scanlon to either suspend or dismiss Mr Thompson “as soon as possible” over his “conduct and character”.

In 2018, legislation passed parliament to give Local Government Ministers the power to sack or suspend elected council officials charged with corruption or integrity offences or where it is deemed in the public interest.

In the past six years, at least seven Queensland mayors and councillors have been suspended under these laws.

Mayor Troy Thompson. Townsville City Council general meeting. Picture: Shae Beplate.

In a message posted to his Facebook page Sunday night, Mr Thompson again played down calls for his resignation, saying “there is no justifiable cause for such an action”.

“This would not only be an attack on a political rival but also an affront to the democratic rights of the residents of Townsville,” Mr Thompson wrote.

Despite attempting to sue his own council for $100,000 and filing multiple Office of the Independent Assessor complaints of misconduct against his councillors, the mayor further claimed they were passing decisions “without any dysfunction”.

“The only parties causing the issues in the reports, are the Councillors and The Bulletin reporters,” Mr Thompson said, before alleging his councillors were “undermining” him.

And even though calls for him to resign have come from all factions including the LNP and Katter’s Australia Party, Mr Thompson said he would not allow ‘political motivations from a Labor Premier’ to “undermine the democratic process”.

“Should the Premier proceed with this unjust action, I am prepared to immediately seek a Supreme Court injunction to protect the integrity of our local government and ensure that your voices continue to be heard,” he wrote.

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.

Federal LNP Herbert MP Phillip Thompson and Katter’s Australia Party deputy leader Nick Dametto are also among North Queensland leaders vocal about Mr Thompson standing down for the good of the city.

Originally published as Premier Steven Miles to suspend Townsville mayor Troy Thompson on eve of election campaign start