City of Ipswich Council Mayor, Teresa Harding, has welcomed local government reforms announced by the Queensland Government which she says will prevent the state’s Mayors from being potentially gagged by fellow councillors on media spokesperson matters.
Mayor Harding (pictured) said the changes, as part of a raft of improvements to the Local Government Act 2009, directly address deficiencies in the current legislation that “have allowed councillors to diminish the powers of democratically elected mayors”.
In January, Ipswich Councillor, Paul Tully, had sought to table a motion to amend the Council’s media policy to clarify the role of committee portfolio spokespersons.
At the time, Mr Tully told ABC News that it was his intention that any councillor, including the Mayor, would still be able to speak on any topic they wanted.
However, the Mayor said the move highlighted how the current Local Government Act did not have the power to prevent councillors from stripping Mayors of spokesperson responsibilities.
“Cr Tully’s motion proposed changes to Council’s Media and Corporate Communications Policy to remove the mayor as a spokesperson on any matter related to a decision of Council or any of its current portfolios. This effectively represented a gag on a democratically elected Mayor,” she said.
“The silver lining is that Cr Tully’s motion highlighted a significant gap in the current legislation that allowed councillors to strip away any responsibility of a mayor that is not specifically protected by the Act.”
The new changes propose the Mayor will retain the role of Council’s lead spokesperson, while encouraging councillors to continue to communicate with their constituents through the media and other forums.
“These changes would put the onus on each mayor to consider the perspectives of community, local media, and the council to determine how we can best communicate important information and who is best placed to deliver that message,” Mayor Harding said.
“I am a firm believer that the mayor is best placed to talk on behalf of citywide and major matters, which makes way for the divisional councillors to play a role in delivering local news and announcements.
“In my experience, some councillors have been so focused on who gets to be in a media release that they have lost sight of our actual role, which is to find the most effective way to keep our community informed and engaged.
“It is unfortunate that Ipswich City Council once again continues to drive local government reform for all the wrong reasons. However, it is important that these changes are made to ensure it is harder than ever for those that seek to use their position as a councillor against the interests of the community.
“Ultimately, councillors are elected to serve the interests of Ipswich community, not themselves. It is my hope that these changes will ensure our city can continue to move forward and leave the petty politics in the past,” she said.
The Council’s media policy is due for renewal by mid-2026.
