Former Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson Embroiled in Scandal Over Misleading Claims and Leaked Confidential Documents
A damning report by the Crime and Corruption Commission has found that former Townsville mayor Troy Thompson misled voters about his cancer diagnosis, military history, and university qualifications. The CCC also uncovered a web of deceit and corruption, including leaked confidential documents and false claims made during his mayoral campaign.
Thompson had claimed to have served in the SAS and exaggerated his length of service, but he later blamed 100-plus concussions and epilepsy for forgetting details of his military service. However, the CCC obtained Thompson's medical records, which revealed no evidence of specialist treatment for epilepsy and a general practitioner's endorsement of an anti-seizure medication plan.
Thompson also falsely claimed to be a "cancer survivor" during his mayoral campaign, claiming he had been told to "get your affairs in order" in 2021 due to oesophageal cancer. However, his medical records do not record a diagnosis or treatment for the condition. The CCC suggested that Thompson's comments about his stomach and potential cancer diagnosis were related to post-gastric sleeve complications from surgery.
The report also found that Thompson had made similar claims on Facebook in 2019, which led to a relative commenting on one of his posts blaming his gastric band surgery for his false claims. Furthermore, Thompson self-reported the removal of several "melanomas", but medical records revealed he had malignant skin lesions removed in 2020 with no further treatment.
In addition to these misrepresentations, the CCC also found that Thompson leaked confidential documents to an unnamed adviser during his mayoral term, sending them over 8,741 encrypted WhatsApp messages. The adviser was paid at least $5,300 for political and policy advice, despite having no formal role within the council. The CCC argued that this appointment posed a corruption risk.
Thompson's lawyer has denied any wrongdoing and declined to respond in circumstances where there is a prospect of future criminal proceedings. However, the CCC report recommended introducing new mechanisms for candidates to declare their qualifications and employment history, with sanctions if the information was found to be false.
A damning report by the Crime and Corruption Commission has found that former Townsville mayor Troy Thompson misled voters about his cancer diagnosis, military history, and university qualifications. The CCC also uncovered a web of deceit and corruption, including leaked confidential documents and false claims made during his mayoral campaign.
Thompson had claimed to have served in the SAS and exaggerated his length of service, but he later blamed 100-plus concussions and epilepsy for forgetting details of his military service. However, the CCC obtained Thompson's medical records, which revealed no evidence of specialist treatment for epilepsy and a general practitioner's endorsement of an anti-seizure medication plan.
Thompson also falsely claimed to be a "cancer survivor" during his mayoral campaign, claiming he had been told to "get your affairs in order" in 2021 due to oesophageal cancer. However, his medical records do not record a diagnosis or treatment for the condition. The CCC suggested that Thompson's comments about his stomach and potential cancer diagnosis were related to post-gastric sleeve complications from surgery.
The report also found that Thompson had made similar claims on Facebook in 2019, which led to a relative commenting on one of his posts blaming his gastric band surgery for his false claims. Furthermore, Thompson self-reported the removal of several "melanomas", but medical records revealed he had malignant skin lesions removed in 2020 with no further treatment.
In addition to these misrepresentations, the CCC also found that Thompson leaked confidential documents to an unnamed adviser during his mayoral term, sending them over 8,741 encrypted WhatsApp messages. The adviser was paid at least $5,300 for political and policy advice, despite having no formal role within the council. The CCC argued that this appointment posed a corruption risk.
Thompson's lawyer has denied any wrongdoing and declined to respond in circumstances where there is a prospect of future criminal proceedings. However, the CCC report recommended introducing new mechanisms for candidates to declare their qualifications and employment history, with sanctions if the information was found to be false.
dude can you believe this guy's gotta go? he made up his whole life story like it was some kinda joke 
and now the people of townsville are left to wonder what else he might've lied about. i mean, 8k encrypted whatsapp messages leaking confidential docs is just low 
and now they're gonna introduce new rules for candidates to make sure this doesn't happen again 
! This guy Troy Thompson thought he could fool everyone with his "cancer survivor" claim and SAS story, but the truth came out, and it looks like he got caught red-handed 
. The thing is, we all know how easy it is to get carried away with our own stories and lose track of reality 
. We gotta be careful not to confuse our own "facts" with someone else's 
.
. So let this be a lesson: honesty is key, and if you're gonna spin a tale, at least have the decency to keep your own head in check 
It's just unbelievable he thought he could get away with it too. And now this whistleblower from his own Facebook post exposing him as a fake cancer survivor? 
The guy's got some serious 'splainin' to do. 
Did he really think that one was private?! I mean, it's not like that's how politics is done in this country, right? 
Anyway, at least something's being done about it now. Maybe we can all learn from this debacle and demand more transparency from our politicians? Fingers crossed! 
.
. Be honest with yourself and others about your strengths and weaknesses - it may not be easy, but it's always better to come clean than to risk losing credibility entirely 
.
. I don't think I'd wanna vote for someone who can't be trusted to tell the truth, you know? 
. But seriously, if he didn't have any melanomas removed... what was the point of all those false claims?
this guy thompson is like totally out of control his whole cancer thing was just a big lie & he's got some serious nerve claiming 100+ concussions & epilepsy are what made him forget his military service 
and then there's all these leaked docs on whatsapp 
where he's basically selling out the council for some cash 
gotta give it to him though, at least he's consistent in being dishonest 
this guy's lies are off the charts he thinks he can just make up his own history and people will believe it? Newsflash Troy: your medical records ain't nobody's diary 
. Thompson's lawyer better come clean or face the music 
just saw this story about Troy Thompson and i'm shookttt how can someone lie like that on a scale from 1 to 10 im giving it a solid 11 
he made up all these stories about his cancer diagnosis military history and university qualifications and now the CCC is saying he leaked confidential documents like what even is going on 
. The CCC report is like a thorough audit of his life - what a difference between being honest and exaggerating... or making up stuff entirely 
. I mean, who tries to pass off cancer treatment as an excuse for not remembering things about their military service? Not impressed with the leaky WhatsApp messages either... just thinking "Who needs formal role within council when you can get paid $5k?"
Guess he's got some explaining to do now 
. Anyway, I guess this just goes to show that some ppl will do whatever it takes to get ahead, even if it means lying about their qualifications and personal life 
.
It's just so lazy and dishonest. And to make matters worse, he leaked confidential documents with encrypted messages - that's some serious corruption right there! 
It's time for him to take responsibility and be transparent about who he really is - not some fictional version of himself! 
#AccountabilityMatters #HonestyIsTheBestPolicy #CorruptionHasNoPlace
anyway, good on the CCC for exposing him...
This guy can't even be trusted to tell his own story... I mean, what's up with all these different versions of his "cancer diagnosis" 
The CCC did a good job exposing him, but I still can't help feeling disappointed - we deserve better from our leaders. 
. The fact that he was able to keep up the charade for so long is really wild. And let's be real, who doesn't love a good underdog story... until you find out they're just making all that stuff up 
. But at the same time, maybe it's just a good idea to make candidates declare their qualifications and employment history, 'cause why take the risk, right? 
And what's with all these confidential documents? Can't an adviser just ask someone for their advice without having to encrypt 8,741 messages?