Major update on controversial mayor’s job

Controversial Townsville mayor Troy Thompson has been suspended from the position, as he faces an investigation into misleading voters.

The Local Government Ann Leahy said on Thursday the Crisafulli government had suspended Mr Thompson as Mayor of Townsville City Council.

“Mr Thompson has agreed to be suspended from his position for 12 months on full pay,” Ms Leahy said.

“The Premier (David Crisafulli) made it clear Mr Thompson’s position was untenable and I want to thank Mr Thompson for recognising this situation.”

The first-term mayor and one-time-almost One Nation candidate is the subject of a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation for allegedly misleading voters on his military, university and business qualifications during his campaign and allegedly accepting campaign donations linked to property developers.

During his suspension Mr Thompson cannot perform any of the duties of a councillor or mayor.

Under normal process, the Deputy Mayor will assume the role of acting Mayor.

In June, Townsville City councillors passed a motion of no confidence against Mr Thompson.

The mayor posted to social media that he was taking a leave of absence until the CCC investigation into his conduct was over.

Mr Thompson made a brief foray into politics in 2020, but One Nation dumped him as a candidate shortly before the Queensland state election.

He ran for mayor this year, defeating longstanding mayor Jenny Hill and was sworn in on April 10, but his stint in local government has been mired in controversy.

During the election campaign, Mr Thompson claimed to have been in the army for five years, including with the elite SAS.

In reality, his service record shows he did less than six months of entry-level training with the army reserves over 2½ years.

More than 4000 enlisted personnel live in Townsville, with his claims angering the local RSL branch.

“Misleading claims of military service are not only dishonest but are deeply disrespectful to those who have genuinely served Australia.”

The minister said the result was a win for the residents of Townsville “who deserve stability and a functioning local government”.

“The people of Townsville spoke loud and clear and we have listened and we have acted,” Ms Leahy said.

“We promised to deliver the people of Townsville a fresh start and that has been achieved with this action.

“The former Labor government attempted to turn the people of Townsville into a political plaything and delivered nothing.

“Where Labor failed for nearly 250 days, the Crisafulli government has delivered this result in two and half weeks.”

The former Miles Labor government had issued Mr Thompson with a show cause notice half an hour before it went into caretaker mode four weeks before the October 26 election