‘Serial pest’ suspended from council. Again.

3 months ago 9

Andrew Thaler, the infamous “serial pest” of Cooma, is just a few more nasty social media posts away from being booted off Snowy Monaro Regional Council for the next five years, after receiving a second three-month suspension.

Thaler, a bloke in desperate need of a hobby, has a history of relentless harassment of (mostly female) elected officials and local businesses, often targeted in crude, rambling Facebook posts and YouTube livestreams.

Despite being banned from the council chambers after a series of abusive tirades against officials, Thaler, a serial political candidate, scraped in at last year’s local government elections.

Andrew Thaler at Snowy Monaro Regional Council last year.

He was subsequently suspended from the council by the Office of Local Government (OLG) over abusive social media posts, including one calling a fellow councillor a “fat dumb blonde” and a “nasty liar”.

Thaler appealed that decision to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where he was represented by former Labor MP Adam Searle, who’s seemingly become the Saul Goodman of bizarre local government snafus, last seen by CBD representing former Liberal MP John Ajaka at an inquiry into Liverpool council.

When that suspension was upheld this month, Thaler launched into yet another social media tirade, declaring that “my crime is being a man” and accusing the council of being “broken” and “run by liars”.

This week, he was suspended again for misconduct by the OLG over a series of Facebook posts and videos made back in March, including one which referred to a fellow councillor as a “mad honking goose”.

It’s strike two for Thaler, who will be barred from serving in local government for five years if suspended for a third time.

When contacted by CBD, Thaler told us he would lodge an appeal this week. He said the suspension was part of an orchestrated campaign by forces that include the state government, who wanted to exclude him from council because he “exposed corruption”.

“I suffer constant attack from political enemies and arseholes in the community,” Thaler told us.

When asked about social media commentary which had been deemed abusive by fellow councillors, part of a pattern of conduct which began well before his election to council last year, Thaler said his victims needed to “grow up”.

“Why is it OK for everyone to attack me, but I can’t attack back or defend myself?” he said.

His victims, of which there are many in the picturesque hamlets around the Snowy Mountains, just wish he would stop.

Now that’s a handicap!

This masthead covered the saga of Professor Mark Smyth, the God of Australian science, who spectacularly fell to Earth, at length and in forensic detail over the weekend.

But one thread was left unplucked: Smyth’s golf game.

The Brisbane Times’ tigerish reporter William Davis staked out Smyth’s home, just a stone’s throw from his old labs at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute’s glittering glass building. When Smyth finally arrived, he paused a moment to pull out a large set of golf clubs from his car boot, before Davis interdicted him.

Mark Smyth outside his house in Brisbane earlier this month.

Golf turns out to be central to Smyth’s story. According to an article from PCMA, a business events community platform, golf led to Smyth’s scientific breakthroughs.

“It was Mark Smyth’s passion for golf that led to his groundbreaking research concerning immune-system reaction to cancer, and how to manipulate it in order to fight the disease,” the site wrote.

“Smyth was originally on track to become a medical doctor, but after being distracted playing golf instead of studying, he didn’t get the marks he needed for medical school, and so he embarked on a career in science instead.”

And to think what could have been.

This masthead has also seen a document – unconfirmed at this point – that suggests Smyth was a star golfer in his younger years. We’re checking it out.

But where does Smyth play golf now? We have been getting all manner of tips about his golfing career and club memberships. So far, the clubs themselves have been tight-lipped. But if you know more about Smyth’s handicap – or any other matters – be sure to slip us a line.

Wild west

The US ambassador’s residence in Yarralumla has sat vacant ever since Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK, left the post last year.

No sign yet of which former golf buddy, sycophantic podcaster or, um, former Ashfield deputy mayor Donald Trump will send to Canberra to succeed American political royalty. Meanwhile, the US Embassy opened its doors to a few hundred inmates of Parliament House on Tuesday night for a delayed Fourth of July hoedown that was the hottest ticket in town.

Who will replace former US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy?

The embassy leant hard into the cowboy core aesthetic that reached its peak last year, with a Western-themed party where treats included smoked meats, an inflatable bucking bull, country music, fireworks and … a tent sponsored by President Trump’s favourite, McDonald’s.

Guests included a posse of Labor frontbenchers, lobbyists, and other Canberra bubble types, although CBD was unfortunate not to score an invitation. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was the guest of honour, giving a speech we hear was pretty jovial and skirted around sensitive issues such as the AUKUS pact, currently under review by the Trump administration.

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