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A Gold Coast councillor charged with murdering his stepfather has been given until the end of the week to fight his suspension from council with pay.
Ryan Donald Bayldon-Lumsden, 30, is accused of murdering Robert Lumsden, 58, at the family's Arundel home on August 23.
Acting Premier and Local Government Minister Steven Miles said the councillor would today be sent a show cause notice to allow them to dispute the decision.
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"I believe it is a reasonable outcome to suspend them effectively until after the next quadrennial council elections when a councillor will be elected," Miles said today.
"We've been in constant contact with Gold Coast City Council discussing with them the options available and the legal advice.
"Given that his electorate staff are likely to be witnesses for the purpose of understanding his movements around that time it would be very, very difficult for him to interact with them and therefore also difficult to service that community."
Miles said he had asked the council to advise the best person to act as an advisor to represent the Division 7 ward in the meantime.
The next Gold Coast council elections are due to be held in March 2024.
Miles said there was nothing precluding Bayldon-Lumsden from running for election, given there had been no outcome by that time.
Bayldon-Lumsden was released on bail on a $250,000 surety on Thursday.
Defence barrister Craig Eberhardt KC told the hearing his client had been subject to an ongoing abusive and controlling relationship with his stepfather and an argument between the two had escalated.
He said Bayldon-Lumsden intended to plead not guilty on the grounds of self-defence or preservation of life in an abusive domestic relationship.
Bayldon-Lumsden was elected to the City of Gold Coast council in 2020, representing Division 7, which covers the city's inner northern suburbs, making history as the city's youngest-ever councillor.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 73.
