Corruption Watchdog Probes Mayor on Claimed Military Service

The mayor of Townsville—the largest settlement in north Queensland and Northern Australia—is in trouble over claims he made about his military service during electioneering. At the recent council election, Troy Thompson defeated Jenny Hill—the mayor for 12 years. During the campaign, Mr. Thompson claimed he spent about five years with the Royal Australian Corps of Signals and the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment. But when challenged by the local newspaper, The Townsville Bulletin, he said he could not remember his service number. That sparked a request by the Department of Local Government to the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) to investigate his record. It received that information, along with his service number, which was then “thoroughly considered … as part of its assessment,” a spokesperson for the Office said....