Troy Thompson | |
---|---|
47th Mayor of Townsville | |
Assumed office 16 March 2024 | |
Preceded by | Jenny Hill |
Personal details | |
Born | Troy Joseph Thompson [1] c. 1973 [2] Perth,Western Australia |
Political party | Independent (since 2020) |
Other political affiliations | One Nation (until 2020) |
Troy Joseph Thompson (formerly Birnbrauer) is an Australian politician who currently serves as mayor of Townsville,a local government area of Queensland. He was elected at the 2024 election,defeating incumbent Jenny Hill.
Thompson has been banned from the Queensland parliament precinct since 2021. [3]
Thompson was preselected as the One Nation candidate for Thuringowa at the 2020 Queensland state election,but was disendorsed because he did not disclose his legal name and directorship in a supply chain management company that went insolvent in 2017. [3] [4]
In early 2024,Thompson announced his candidacy for mayor of Townsville at the upcoming local government elections,competing against 12-year incumbent Jenny Hill. On 27 March 2024,more than a week after the election,Hill conceded to Thompson. [5]
In May 2024,Thompson was referred to the State's Crime and Corruption Commission regarding his military service history. [4] In early June 2024,the council passed a vote of no confidence in Thompson. [6] He continues to serve in the council and disregards continuing calls for his resignation. [7] [8]
In April 2024,Thompson was the subject of scrutiny after doubts were raised in the media about his claims of having served with the Australian Army. After he attended Townsville's Anzac Day dawn service without any medals,Thompson admitted he did not have any medals of his own. [9] This is despite Thompson claiming he served for five years as a reservist in Australia,with the 109th Signals Squadron before serving with the Special Air Service Regiment's 152 Signal Squadron,finishing his service with the 105th Signals Squadron. [9] [10] (It should be noted the City of Townsville is considered a 'garrison city',home to large army and air force presences.)
When asked what his service number was,Thompson said he could not recall what it was because the only record of it was in a book where it had been noted down in handwriting in the mid-1990's. [9] Thompson said he had asked unrelated federal MP Phillip Thompson for help in trying to locate his service number,but Phillip Thompson said he had not yet received any such request. [9]
When asked by the Townsville Bulletin to provide evidence of the request having been submitted,Thompson said he would not be making any further comments about the issue. [9] The Bulletin also claimed Thompson has since blocked some newspaper staff and local community leaders from his official mayoral social media channels. [9]
In an interview with A Current Affair in May 2024,Thompson said he enlisted in the army in 1991 and served less than three years as a reservist,largely in the Catering Corps. [11]
The matter of his service history has been referred to the State's Crime and Corruption Commission. [4] Separately the Queensland State Department of Local Government asked the State Office of the Independent Assessor to investigate the councillor's conduct. [7]
Following election as mayor,during the A Current Affair television interview,Thompson admitted information on his LinkedIn profile was incorrect;that he did not have bachelor degrees in science and commerce from Griffith and Curtin universities. [4]
Born in Western Australia,where his father served with the Australian Army,Thompson commenced schooling in Townsville in 1978,completing in 1988 at the Kirwan State High School. [2]
Thompson had been previously known as Troy Joseph Birnbrauer,after he married a German woman in 1996 and took her surname "as she was last in her [family] line". [3]
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland,Australia. With a population of 179,011 as of the 2021 census,it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia. It is unofficially considered the capital of North Queensland. Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental,community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.
Mundingburra is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. It is currently held by Labor Party MP Les Walker.
Anthony John Mooney AM is a former Australian politician who served as a city councillor of the City of Townsville,Queensland from 1977 to 2008,and the mayor from 1989 to 2008.
The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland,Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville,together with the surrounding rural areas,to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek,Woodstock and Reid River,and to the north are Northern Beaches and Paluma,and also included is Magnetic Island. In June 2018 the area had a population of 194,072,and is the 28th-largest LGA in Australia. Townsville is considered to be the unofficial capital of North Queensland.
Greg Ian Dowling is an Australian former politician and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative prop forward,he played his club football mostly in Brisbane with a spell playing for English club,Wigan.
The Charters Towers Region is a local government area in North Queensland,Australia southwest of,and inland from the city of Townsville,based in Charters Towers. Established in 2008,it was preceded by two previous local government areas which dated back to the 1870s.
Raymond Alexander Stevens is an Australian politician,currently serving as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing Mermaid Beach for the Liberal National Party. He previously served as Manager of Opposition Business in the Legislative Assembly.
Jennifer Lorraine Hill AM is an Australian former politician who served as mayor of Townsville from 2012 until 2024. which is the 18th largest local government area in Australia. She was elected to the position during the Queensland Local Government elections held on 28 April 2012. Prior to serving as mayor,Hill was a city councillor and previously held the position of Deputy Mayor under the previous pre-amalgamation Townsville City Council in the Labor administration of Tony Mooney between 2007 and 2008.
Dale Raymond Last is an Australian politician. He has been the Liberal National member for Burdekin in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2015.
Love Australia or Leave is a former far-right Australian political party. The party was founded by Kim Vuga,a Townsville woman who came to prominence as a reality contestant in the SBS Television program Go Back to Where You Came From. which sought to expose ordinary Australians to the situations faced by refugees and asylum seekers.
Darren Ross Power is an Australian politician who served as the mayor of the City of Logan from 2020 to 2024. Prior to his election as mayor,Power served as Logan City Councillor for Division 10 from 1997 to 2019,and as Advocate for the City of Logan from 2019 to 2020.
Leslie Alexander Walker is an Australian politician currently serving as member for Mundingburra in the Queensland Legislative Assembly,a position he has held since 2020. He served as a Townsville City councillor from 2004,and was Deputy Mayor of Townsville from 2016 to 2020.
The 2024 Gold Coast City Council election was held on 16 March 2024 to elect a mayor and 14 councillors to the City of Gold Coast. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2008 Townsville City Council election was held on 15 March 2008 to elect a mayor and 12 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2012 Townsville City Council election was held on 28 April 2012 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2016 Townsville City Council election was held on 19 March 2016 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2024 Townsville City Council election was held on 16 March 2024 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
The 2020 Townsville City Council election was held on 28 March 2020 to elect a mayor and 10 councillors to the City of Townsville. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Queensland,Australia.
My Place Australia,also known simply as My Place,is an Australian conspiracy theorist group. The group is based in Melbourne and is active in local government politics across Australia. As of April 2024,My Place had around 180 active Facebook groups.