LOGAN Mayor Luke Smith defiantly resisted calls for him to stand down outside Beenleigh Magistrates Court for his first court appearance today.
Magistrate Michael O’Driscoll granted Cr Smith an adjournment to face two charges of perjury, one charge of official corruption and one charge of failing to change his register of business interests.
He will reappear at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on June 7.
The charges arose from an ongoing Operation Belcarra Crime and Corruption Commission investigation which examined the conduct of candidates involved in the Gold Coast City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Logan City Council and Ipswich City Council local government elections.
Councillors Lisa Bradley (Division 1), Laurie Koranski (Division 4), Jon Raven (Division 5) and Darren Power (Division 10) have called on Cr Smith’s removal in the public interest in a letter to Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.
Cr Smith said he would continue to serve the people of Logan.
“I know there have been people who have asked for me to stand aside...maybe there are people in the city of Logan who think that...I will continue to be able to serve the people of Logan with great vigour,” he said.
“I just want to reassure everyone that I will be vigorously defending the case and we feel very comfortable with the case before us.
“I want to thank the wonderful people of Logan who have been around supporting me through this process. The messages, the texts and the Facebook messages have been fantastic.”
Cr Smith said he could not comment on the specifics of the case and called for privacy as he continues to defend the charges.
