Ipswich councillor Paul Tully has gone to ground after revelations of the spending habits of the former Ipswich Council leadership team while they were directors of a council-linked company.
He is also facing calls from political opponents to step down from his role as an elected official, as more questions are raised about his trips overseas with former mayor Paul Pisasale back in 2010 and 2012.
9News revealed the study tours involved a Middle-Eastern palace, private jets across Europe, and a helicopter ride taken by the four former leaders of Ipswich City Council including now-jailed former mayor Paul Pisasale, his deputy Paul Tully and executives Carl Wulff and Jim Lindsay.
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At the time, the four were also directors of a company set up by council in 2009, Ipswich City Properties Pty Ltd, formed to help drive the redevelopment of the Ipswich CBD.
State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the expenses racked up on the study tours "didn't pass the pub test" and called for Tully to reconsider his position on Council.
"Clearly his position is untenable," he said.
"That money belongs in the public domain and if people are travelling either interstate or overseas, there has to be a public benefit.
"Some of the figures we've seen, some of the locations that were stayed at, some of the travel that was incurred, that doesn't pass the pub test."
LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner also weighed into the debate, saying the expenses, which included two nights at Hotel Barriere Le Fouquet in Paris for close to $18,000, were "shocking".
"We're disappointed because it reflects badly on other local governments, when in fact other local governments are not like Ipswich City Council was," he said.
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When approached with questions on Thursday, July 14, Tully said he would get back to 9News after reviewing the documents released under Right to Information (RTI).
"I will get those records and I'll be in a position to answer you fully and completely," he said.
He has since declined to respond to a number of emails and phone calls.
During a separate press conference on Tuesday, July 19, which 9News was not invited to, Tully repeatedly said he was yet to review the documents.
"I haven't seen the RTI documents," he said.
But in a statement today, Ipswich City Council confirmed Tully was provided with "a copy of all the documents which relate to a recent Access Application under the RTI Act 2009, which sought details of travel by the former directors of Ipswich City Properties in 2010 and 2012".
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Local Government Minister Steven Miles said it would be up to voters to decide at the next local government elections, set for 2024.
"Each level of government is elected in their own right so some weight needs to be put behind the fact he was democratically elected but I would expect that now that there is even more information to hand, the task of him re-electing himself next time might be even harder."
Contact reporter Josh Bavas at joshbavas@nine.com.au
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