Ipswich Mayor Rejects Calls for Compensation to Sacked Councillors, Urges Focus on City’s Future

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding has dismissed calls for dismissed former councillors to receive an apology and compensation, saying the city deserves to move forward, not revisit the past.

It follows a report in The Australian where federal Labor MP Shayne Neumann and the local party branch backed proposals for payouts and a truth-telling process for councillors dismissed in 2018 after a series of governance scandals.

Mayor Harding, who was elected in 2020 after the council was restructured, said she was “gobsmacked” by the suggestion.
“As the person who has had to mop up the mess they left behind, I think the people of Ipswich are the ones who deserve an apology,” she said.
“Over $78 million of ratepayers’ money was lost through corruption, incompetence and terrible decisions — everything from private jets to extravagant travel. Ipswich families work hard for every dollar, and to see that wasted was heartbreaking.”

Harding pointed to the Operation Windage Report, which highlighted widespread governance failures and cultural issues, as the basis for the unanimous Queensland Parliament decision to sack the council. Seven councillors later challenged the dismissal in the Industrial Relations Commission, but their claims were rejected.

“This all happened seven years ago. It’s done and dusted,” Harding said. “We should be focusing on today’s issues — housing, cost of living, jobs and investment. Ipswich is the fastest-growing council in Queensland, and that’s where our energy must go.”

Since 2020, Ipswich City Council has won two national awards for transparency, live-streams meetings, and publishes detailed decision-making documents. Harding said the reforms have restored public trust.

“We’ve worked hard to show how ratepayers’ money is spent, and that’s the story we should be telling,” she said.

The Mayor also welcomed news that the Department of Transport and Main Roads will investigate safety upgrades at the David Trumpy Bridge, and praised the city’s naval cadets following their annual dining-in night at Wounded Heroes in Bundamba.