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Ipswich Council CEO to investigate alleged ‘shooting’ gesture at Mayor

July 18, 2023 4:24 pm in by
Photo/Videos: Ipswich City Council. Supplied.

Ipswich City Council’s CEO is to investigate an incident where a former councillor allegedly made a ‘shooting’ gesture at the Mayor.

Footage (below), which was released last week, appears to show dismissed councillor David Pahlke using his fingers to allegedly mimic cocking a gun and firing it at Mayor Teresa Harding during April’s ordinary council meeting.

The incident was captured during debate on whether councillor names should be removed from signs.

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Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said she was appalled when she first viewed the footage.

“In the more than three years of this term, we’ve had many visitors to the public gallery and many robust debates, but I have never seen anything like this before,” Mayor Harding said.

“Obviously this kind of behaviour would not be tolerated in the galleries of the Australian and Queensland Parliaments, and I don’t think Ipswich should have put up with it either.

“There is no place for threatening and intimidating behaviour in our community.

“Normalising violence against women or public officials is never okay,” she said.

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Meanwhile, Former Councillor David Pahlke has defended the incident and said the hand gesture was ‘misunderstood’ and he was trying to refer to a ‘Gotcha’ moment instead.

“It could have meant many different things including I’ve got you, shot down in flames in a gun smoking barrel, nailed it, got you in my sights but I meant ‘We Gotcha’,” he said..

Mr Pahlke said the gesture responded to an 8 to 1 vote by Ipswich Councillors in favour of keeping councillor names on signs when they needed to be replaced.

“Mayor Harding was the only councillor to vote against the move,” he said.

The former councillor also claimed that the gesture happened while the Mayor was making hurtful comments during a heated debate in the council meeting.

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The matter has been referred to Ipswich Council’s Chief Executive Officer for advice.

Ipswich Council is also considering putting rules in place for visitors in the Chamber’s public gallery.

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