TWO weeks ago this column suggested Ipswich councillor Jabob Madsen was holding down a second job.
After some delay in responding to initial enquiries, last Thursday evening Cr Madsen admitted to working at a detention centre as a youth worker on weekends and after hours.
“I currently perform a youth worker role in the youth justice system and it’s a role that fits around my duties as a councillor,” he said.
When asked why he applied, the answer wasn’t quite what I expected.
“I was looking for a different way to get skills and experience.”
Questioned about how many hours’ work it entailed each week, the answer was unclear.
“It’s a pretty flexible role, it’s a mix of night and weekend shifts.
“I really have to categorically state my primary role is a councillor for the city of Ipswich, and if those other commitments impact my ability to do my councillor duties … I would discontinue them,” Cr Madsen said.
It’s not necessarily the deed itself which has raised the ire of some voters, but the apparent reluctance of the councillor to make a more detailed public declaration sooner and place more information on his register of interests.
Declaring “youth worker” is not enough.
The lesson here is not to provide just what might be the minimum requirements to report other work because smaller transgressions have brought people in much higher positions undone.
If the youth worker job was a “plan B” if he was not elected for a second time, that plan should have been kicked to the kerb.
Politics is a tough business and not for the faint-hearted. Cr Madsen gave his opponents a free kick by not being upfront about his absences, especially at the beginning of the term.
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