The future of Townsville mayor Troy Thompson will be on the agenda of Queensland Premier Steven Miles‘ last cabinet meeting today before the government enters caretaker mode tomorrow ahead of the state election.
Thompson is under investigation by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission having admitted to making misleading claims about his military service and university qualifications.
Miles confirmed on Friday the Queensland government had begun investigating ways to remove Thompson from the job after it learned that the QCCC investigation may take up to a year.
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“I’ve been absolutely consistent that I thought the best thing in Townsville’s interests would be for (Thompson) to stand aside,” Miles said today.
“He has consistently refused to do so.”
Miles said government MPs and community leaders had told him last week the situation at council was “getting worse not better”.
”Townsville is the most important regional city in Queensland and we need it to be pumping,” Miles said.
He said collaboration between the three levels of government had “fallen away” and Townsville had “stumbled” since the last council election in March.
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“We don’t want to see Townsville return to where it was when the LNP were last in office.
“We don’t want to see unemployment peak again like it did after Clive Palmer closed QNI (mining company Queensland Nickel).”
Townsville councillors passed a motion of no confidence in the mayor in June and asked Local Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon to suspend him.
Thompson claims the premier has “no justifiable cause” to stand him down and has accused Miles of trying to “undermine the democratic process” to win favour ahead of the election.
The government will enter caretaker mode tomorrow ahead of the election on October 26.
The three-term Labor government is bracing for an LNP steamrolling with polls pointing towards LNP leader David Crisafulli winning majority government.
Miles, who became premier after Annastacia Palaszczuk stepped down after more than eight years in the top job, is attempting to reframe what would be a fourth-term Labor government as his “first term as Queensland’s premier”.
“I want four years in my own right to deliver on the kinds of policies, the vision that I have for our state,” he said today.
“I have sought to use the 10 months I’ve had in this role to show Queenslanders who I am and what I would do and I will be seeking from them a mandate for a vision for our state, a vision I will outline over the next 27 days.”
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