Former Bundaberg Regional Council mayor and Queensland police minister Jack Dempsey has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Aurukun Shire Council. Photo: Supplied.
Aurukun Shire Council has appointed former Bundaberg mayor and Queensland police minister Jack Dempsey as its new chief executive officer.
The council made the decision at a special meeting on 20 June following a nationwide search to fill the organisation’s top job.
The appointment comes after the council voted in December 2023 to reinstall former CEO John Thomas, only to have him fail to show up to honour his three-year contract, which was scheduled to commence on 15 January.
While the council, Mayor Barbara Bandicootcha and Mr Dempsey have not commented on the outcome of the vote at the special meeting, Cape York Weekly has confirmed with a number of sources the appointment has been made, and that staff in Aurukun were informed of the elected members’ decision on Thursday afternoon.
One staff member, who asked not to be named, said they had been “damn surprised” when they learned who would be moving into the CEO’s office, which has been occupied by several acting council bosses since July 2023.
“We need stability and a leader in the role, so I think everyone will get on board if that’s what he’s going to offer,” they said.
“I think everyone was a bit stunned when we worked out who it was, given his background as a mayor and with the government.”
Mr Dempsey served in the Queensland Parliament for almost a decade and held several key portfolios, including police, and Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and multicultural affairs under former premier Campbell Newman, before being elected as Bundaberg Regional Council mayor in the 2016.
He was attempting a third term as mayor at the 16 March local government election but lost to Helen Blackburn after receiving less than 33 per cent of first preference votes.
Mr Dempsey is expected to commence in the role in late July.
Aurukun has had difficulty keeping a CEO in the western Cape York community following the retirement of long-serving council boss Bernie McCarthy in November 2021. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
