REDLANDS2030 president Steve MacDonald has strongly criticised a postponed motion by Ipswich City Councillors to strip the mayor of the role as the lead spokesperson for the council, calling it “anti-democratic”.
The Ipswich council last week parked a debate on whether to take the unprecedented move of gagging democratically elected mayor Teresa Harding from being council’s lead spokesperson.
The change would have meant councillors who chair specific policy portfolios were the lead spokesperson for anything relating to that issue, removing the Mayor’s ability to comment via official council communications.
Mr MacDonald stressed that mayors, having been elected by a wide majority, should serve as the official voice of the council.
“When people elect a mayor, they expect to hear from the mayor they voted for, not from councillors representing specific projects,” he said.
Mr MacDonald pointed to events in the Redlands, where Mayor Jos Mitchell would be removed as spokesperson for certain projects if she voted against them in council.
“That’s not the way we expect things to work,” Mr MacDonald said.
“It creates confusion, and it’s not democratic.
“The people want to hear from the mayor, not a selected spokesperson with a specific agenda.”
Mr MacDonald criticised the lack of consultation with the community on such significant changes, calling for more transparency and accountability in council operations.
“These decisions shouldn’t be made unilaterally by a small majority of councillors,” he said.
“The community deserves to have a say in how their council operates.”
Mr MacDonald warned that the Ipswich issue was likely to resurface in councils across Queensland, as more local governments grapple with tensions between mayors and councillors.
“This debate will come back in a broader context.
“Until councils start engaging with their communities, they risk further eroding trust and transparency in local government.”
