CR Paul Gleeson insists he is being silenced for seeking transparency and is the victim of an flawed complaints system after being ordered to undergo counselling for misconduct.
The Local Government Department revealed earlier this week said that Cr Gleeson was counselled for two separate misconduct complaints.
The first related to Cr Gleeson advocating for a property owned by his brother to be favourably rezoned, a spokesperson said.
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The second related to comments made by Cr Gleeson on social media throughout the previous 12 months.
The complaints, sustained by the tribunal on October 11, resulted in Cr Gleeson being twice ordered to undergo monthly counselling delivered across six months.
The counselling was given by a department officer to help Cr Gleeson understand his obligations for honest and impartial conduct and appropriate use of social media in his role as councillor.
He was also ordered to undergo monitoring for a further six months by the department’s chief executive to check his compliance with the Local Government Act.
Cr Gleeson said he believed he was the victim of a complaints system that was open to abuse.
“Nearly all of the complaints received about me this year have been generated by two Labor aligned councillors and (Capalaba MP) Don Brown,” Mr Gleeson said.
“… The complaint regarding my Facebook use came from a Facebook post that I made naming four councillors who had subdivided land in the previous seven months.
“I highlighted one councillor in particular who had subdivided a block of land in Victoria Point down to 391m2 which wouldn’t comply under the new planning scheme.
“This is all fact and any complaint about it should have been thrown out.
“The community deserve to know what their representatives are up to but the system silences councillors who seek transparency.”
Records kept by Redland City Council indicate Cr Gleeson has clocked up seven substantiated allegations of inappropriate conduct since the beginning of last year.
Mayor Karen Williams said she was tired of politicians acting like children.
“They are damaging our reputation and diminishing our ability to attract investment into our local economy,” she said.
“If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a hundred times - all elected representatives should work together for the community and settle their differences like adults rather than trolling each other on social media and lodging complaints against each other.”
Cr Williams said the state local government department had the ultimate say on complaint outcomes and orders.
