In October 2017,she went to the Crime and Corruption Commission alleging possible misconduct by the former mayor Mr Smith.
Sharon Kelsey was controversially sacked from Logan City Council.Credit:Alexandra Weaver.
The council was warned not to sack her on the basis of her complaints,but in February 2018 the majority of councillors - all councillors later charged - voted to fire her.
Ms Kelseysued the councillors for unfair dismissal,seeking to regain her job. The sacked councillors deny the allegations and argue she was fired on performance grounds.
As a result of laws passed in 2018,the seven councillors were automatically suspended on full pay,pending the outcome of the criminal charges.
On May 2,Mr Hinchliffe announced the entire council would be sacked,as he had no other choice. He emphasised the councillors were innocent until proven guilty.
Mr Smith was already suspended at the time after being earlier charged with corruption and perjury,and failing to update his register of interests as mayor.
Councillor Stacey McIntosh was suspended in 2018 after being charged with an unrelated fraud offence relating to her time before she was elected.
The move to sack the council was met with disappointment by the Local Government Association of Queensland,with chief executive Greg Hallamdescribing the situation as “unprecedented”.
Administrator appointed
Shortly after the council was sacked,Mr Hinchliffe appointedretired public servant Tamara O’Shea as Logan City Council’s administrator.
Retired public servant Tamara O'Shea was named interim administrator of the Logan City Council earlier in May.
Mr Hinchliffe had considered bringing the 2020 elections forward to cover the gap,but decided it would be too costly.
Ms O’Shea’s appointment followed in the footsteps of Ipswich administrator Greg Chemello,who was appointed to clean up Ipswich City Council after it too was sacked in 2016.
In July,Ms O’Sheaannounced a large reform program,aided by the four whistleblower councillors who joined an advisory board to assist her work.
"It was clear when I arrived that the community wanted changes to give them greater confidence in their next elected council,"Ms O'Shea said at the time.
She flagged an intent to develop a new council system that saw councillors taking on more responsibility than simply reporting maintenance issues,and in late 2019 the council approved arange of administrative policies that struck out many perks and benefits.
What happens now?
On March 28,Logan ratepayers will return to the polls to select a new council. Some previous councillors,includingMr Power,Mr Raven,Ms Koranski and Ms Bradley,have indicated they intend to run again.
Logan ratepayers will be one of two local government areas selecting entirely new councils,with Ipswich also in the same position.
Ms Kelsey's court case in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission against the eight councillors is ongoing.