Bundaberg’s Mayor Jack Dempsey has finally revealed his true intentions that he is running as an independent for the seat of Hinkler at the upcoming federal election.
Rumours of Cr Dempsey’s interest in a change of scenery in Canberra began circulating around August last year when he launched his LinkedIn column called ‘Jack hammer – drilling down on community issues’.
For the past six months, Cr Dempsey has been talking about a wide range of issues not related to his job as Mayor including making meat labelling, mobile black spots, internet speed, gender pay gaps and most recently – climate change.
He has also been steadily building his public profile through his iconic ‘thumbs up’ photos on the so called ‘free’ (yet $1.4 million a year) Bundaberg Now news site, which is controlled by Bundaberg Regional Council and has more journalism staff than the local ABC news office.
Cr Dempsey denied his federal politics aspirations only a few weeks ago.
When directly asked if he was running for Hinkler, he responded by saying the spreading of “false, vexatious rumours” said more about the people spreading them than anyone else.
What does it say about our Mayor now that the truth has been revealed?
I don’t have a problem with Cr Dempsey wanting a career change, but he could have at least been honest about his obvious intentions.
His denials are just embarrassing.
His counterpart, Matt Burnett, the Mayor of Gladstone Regional Council, at least had the decency to declare his intentions to run for the federal seat of Flynn in April last year.
It is unlikely that Cr Dempsey woke up one day last week and made his decision to run over his morning cornflakes, especially when the ABC has revealed he registered his ‘jackforhinkler.com’ website in March last year.
Cr Dempsey has claimed the reason he is running for Hinkler is because Keith Pitt hasn’t done his job.
The reality is Cr Dempsey has gone out of his way to frustrate every project the Federal Government have funded, or considered funding, in Bundaberg during his tenure as Mayor.
Questions must be raised about a very serious potential conflict-of-interest regarding Cr Dempsey’s use of Bundaberg Regional Council staff and resources to fund his own personal political ambitions to head to Canberra.
When asked on ABC radio if the council resources had been used for his own political interests he simply said “that is a matter for the CEO”.
That’s the same CEO Cr Dempsey singlehandedly gave a 16 per cent pay rise during Covid.
We now see the Mayor’s chief of staff, Michael Gorey, explaining to the ABC that he suggested to his boss 18 months ago that he should have a go at Hinkler and, after humming and aahing, Cr Dempsey only now has taken the plunge.
Can the CEO explain whether Mr Gorey’s job description for Bundaberg Regional Council includes being a spokesperson on the Mayor’s campaign for the seat of Hinkler?
Cr Dempsey is the only Mayor in Queensland to have a ‘chief of staff’ solely dedicated to helping with “policy, advocacy, communications and stakeholder relations”.
The CEO of Bundaberg Regional Council told the Courier Mail last year when the role was created “the position is similar to a ministerial advisor in state or federal government”.
It has now become clearer why a regional council Mayor, of a council under significant financial and social pressures, needs a full time ‘ministerial advisor’.
The worse part is that Cr Dempsey doesn’t have to resign from his $158,000 a year job as Mayor to expand his political horizons.
He can simply take a ‘leave of absence’ during the campaign and resume his role if unsuccessful.
Cr Dempsey has told the media he won’t take a leave of absence ‘until the election is called’, which means Bundaberg ratepayers have been paying him $3000/week for him to run around campaigning on his own behalf.
On top of that Bundaberg ratepayers are expected to take him back if he becomes a failed federal candidate.
It is a sad indictment on the once proud role of Mayor of Bundaberg and it is a disgraceful and unjustified abuse of power and privilege that Cr Dempsey has used his position to promote his own political ambitions.
He is effectively saying that Bundaberg and being Mayor is his second preference to the heady lights of federal politics.
If he had any integrity left he would do the honourable thing and resign as Mayor because he clearly has little respect for the role or the people who elected him to that esteemed position.
