Meet the outback mayor accused of misconduct after daring to criticise Qld Health
A state agencyās extraordinary pursuit of an outback mayor for potential misconduct after he questioned actions by Queensland Health has prompted the peak body for local councils to vow to take the state to the High Court if necessary to guarantee the right to free speech.
The Office of the Independent Assessor has Barcaldine Mayor Sean Dillon in its sights over comments he made at a February council meeting critical of Queensland healthās vaccine rollout for the region.
Mayor Dillon told the meeting he had āno confidenceā in the approach of the local Central West Hospital and Health Service to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
āI just hope they donāt stuff it up because itās the thing that we need to try and restore confidence in businesses and community events,ā he told the meeting.
The OIA, set up as a watchdog on alleged council misbehaviour by the Palaszczuk Government several years ago, wrote to him in April saying he was reasonably suspected of inappropriate conduct for the remarks.
However, it has yet to resolve its investigation despite Mayor Dillon lodging a vigorous defence citing political freedom of speech.
Now the Local Government Association of Queensland says it is prepared to take the issue to the High Court.
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LGAQ chief executive Greg Hallam said the right to political speech was implied in the Australian Constitution.
He said the OIA and its chief Kathleen Florian was āwell wide of the markā and its reaction to Mayor Dillonās comments ādid not pass the pub testā.
āThe vaccine rollout is discussed on a daily basis by politicians at all levels and on all sides of government,ā he said.
āIt would literally be mentioned hundreds of times a day in the Queensland media.ā
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the probe was āridiculousā and Dillon had done a great job promoting the rollout in Barcaldine.
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āItās a bit of a storm in a teacup, I donāt think what he said was unusual,ā she told reporters on Wednesday.
āI think itās a bit ridiculous but thatās a matter for the Independent Assessor, but you know those comments I think were made earlier this year, and theyāve had great vaccination rates out there and the Mayor, Sean, I know him, heās done a great job.ā
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the state government supported the rights of councillors to speak freely, but it did not control the OIA as it was an independent statutory body.
āIf anyone has concerns about the actions of the OIA, they should raise those concerns with the Queensland Ombudsman,ā he said
Liberal National Party integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the reports about Dillon were ādeeply concerningā as elected officials should be free to express their views on policies without fear of prosecution.
She said the mayor was merely pointing out some possible logistical difficulties about the vaccine rollout in the Barcaldine region.
āI fear there is a genuine risk being posed to our democracy,ā Ms Simpson said in a statement.
āI fear the Office of the Independent Assessor is being used to strong-arm elected officials who hold contrary views to the current Queensland government.ā
āI fear the actions of the OIA are authoritarian which doesnāt represent who we are as a society.ā
-with AAP
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