Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding Accuses Councillors of Trying to 'Gag' Her

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding has accused her fellow councillors of attempting to "gag" her after a vote to amend the council's media policy. The changes allow all councillors to use communications staff to write and send media releases, a move Mayor Harding claims will waste ratepayer money.

New Media Policy Sparks Controversy

The proposal, put forward by Councillor Paul Tully, was passed with five councillors voting in favour, while Mayor Harding and Councillor Marnie Doyle voted against it. Under the previous policy, only the mayor could use the communications team to send media releases and press statements.

Councillor Tully said the changes would "democratise" the council and allow other councillors to put different views to the public. "I think the [amendments] are fair, they're reasonable, they recognise the role of individual councillors, and they harmonise with the mayor's role," he said.

Mayor Harding, however, believes the changes will waste ratepayer money, stating that it would be spent propping up the political profiles of individual councillors. "Since my election in 2020 I have seen plenty of attempts from councillors trying to use council's media policy to minimise the voice of the mayor and maximise their own," she said.

This is not the first attempt to change the media policy, with Mayor Harding stating it is the "third or fourth attempt" by a faction of councillors to weaken her power within the chamber. Councillor Tully's previous attempt to change the policy was described by the Office of Independent Assessor as the equivalent of a gag.

Cost and Implications

Council chief executive officer Sonia Cooper said it was unclear how much the amendment would cost ratepayers, but estimated it would amount to between 0.5 and two full-time-equivalent staff workloads.

Reactions from Councillors

Councillor Jacob Madsen said councillors had a democratic right to speak to their wards about decisions that affected them, and that the mayor's comments were inflammatory. "I personally think the community are over this sort of rubbish and the attacks they see in the media, and I'm sick of having to defend myself against spurious claims," he said.

Councillor Andrew Antoniolli said councillors had previously been "excluded" from media releases, even when the topic discussed was part of their committee portfolio.