Former Ipswich deputy mayor Paul Tully took a secretive trip to south-east Asia last year during which he received undisclosed hospitality from a luxury hotel company with significant commercial interests in Ipswich.
Fairfax Media can reveal Cr Tully took a 10-day trip in July 2016 taking in Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, following an invitation from Gold Coast developer Richard Turner.
Cr Tully was part of a delegation that included former Labor state treasurer Terry Mackenroth, representing developer Springfield Land Corporation, where the one-time Beattie government minister is director of strategic development.
Itineraries obtained by Fairfax Media show Cr Tully took an almost identical trip to the then-mayor Paul Pisasale, but a week later.
Mr Pisasale declared his trip within a week of returning to Australia, detailing that he had received free accommodation from Thai luxury hotel chain Dusit Thani. Cr Tully has made no such declaration.
Fairfax Media understands Cr Tully's accommodation in Bangkok on July 8 and 9 was paid for by the hotel chain, which is linked to Mr Turner's plans to build a multi-million dollar golf resort at Springfield, on land in the Ipswich council area bordering Cr Tully's Goodna division.
Dusit Thani has been negotiating operating rights at the proposed Brookwater resort and the company's name has been used heavily by Mr Turner in marketing materials. It would be the group's first foray in Australia, where it is keen to establish a presence.
Ipswich City Council said it had paid for Cr Tully's other expenses and that they were approved by now-suspended council chief executive Jim Lindsay.
In a statement, a council spokesman said Mr Lindsay had approved travel for Cr Tully to attend the World Cities Summit in Singapore from July 10 to July 14, 2016, and "inspections/deputations in Kuala Lumpur on July 15 and Bangkok on July 8 and 9" and the council had paid "all relevant expenses".
But the spokesman added: "Council paid for Cr Tully's accommodation in Singapore. There are no council records of meetings or who paid for accommodation in Bangkok."
Asked why Cr Tully and then-mayor Pisasale had taken separate overseas trips to visit the same facilities, the spokesman said the council was "not aware of any reason or reasons".
Cr Tully has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
Dusit Thani declined to comment, citing "customer confidentiality". However, a company source told Fairfax Media it would co-operate with any investigation into Cr Tully's trip.
Mr Mackenroth confirmed he and Cr Tully had stayed at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok along with Springfield Land executive Russell Luhrs, but said he did not know who had paid for Cr Tully's accommodation.
"Springfield Land paid for me to go and took care of everything," he said.
A Springfield Land spokesman said Dusit Thani had paid for its two executives' accommodation in Bangkok.
According to the Dusit Thani website, room rates at its flagship Bangkok hotel range from about $250 to $800 per night.
Councillors must disclose gifts worth more than $500 on their registers of interests within 30 days. Failing to do can lead to a criminal conviction, dismissal from council and a ban on standing for council.
According to Mr Mackenroth, Cr Tully's delegation visited a golf resort development near Singapore airport and Dusit Thani's hospitality training school in Bangkok. Mr Turner accompanied Cr Tully on the visits; he was also part of Mr Pisasale's delegation.
Cr Tully's itinerary, put together for him by Springfield Land, the dominant landowner in Springfield, shows him arriving in Bangkok on the evening of July 8, with a note stating "Accommodation Dusit Thani Bangkok".
The document shows he was due to meet senior Dusit Thani executives at the company's headquarters the following day and depart for Singapore at lunchtime on July 10.
The councillors' overseas tours took place a month after Mr Turner's proposed resort received final development approval from Ipswich City Council.
Mr Pisasale was accompanied on his visit by the then-editor of the Queensland Times, Peter Chapman.
Mr Mackenroth said he and Cr Tully had met Mr Pisasale and Mr Chapman at Singapore Airport as the then-Mayor was heading back to Australia.
Cr Tully, one of the longest-serving councillors in the state, has been a strong supporter of the Brookwater resort scheme in local media.
Until April 2016, he was the long-standing chair of the council's planning, development and heritage committee.
He narrowly lost out to Andrew Antoniolli in the mayoral contest in August that followed the resignation of Mr Pisasale in June.
Mr Pisasale is facing 11 criminal charges relating to his time in office, including fraud, extortion and official corruption.
Mr Lindsay was in September charged with official corruption, disobedience to statute law and disclosing a confidential document, as part of the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission's widening investigation into Ipswich City Council.
Five other people have been charged with related offences.
