A Brisbane City Council councillor is facing growing pressure to apologise to the Jewish community and repay ratepayer funds after an investigation found a council-funded newsletter breached the local government’s Code of Conduct.
Greens councillor Trina Massey authored and distributed a Spring 2024 ward newsletter that included a two-page article focused on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. An independent investigation found the publication contravened council policies and procedures and failed to appropriately distinguish between personal political views and official council communications.
The newsletter tells a short story of Khalil and his journey as an orange farmer in the once small Palestinian Arab village of Jammasin to Brisbane as a refugee. However, the remaining content describes ‘the Ongoing Nakba’ and includes a short ‘timeline’ of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The timeline commences in the year 1516 to present but is absent of referencing the 3000-year conflict and the widely reported 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The article goes on to encourage readers to ‘join the growing movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people’ providing ‘QR Codes’ in support of this movement e.g. ‘Justice for Palestine’ (Brisbane).
An investigation, conducted by FairFact Consultancy Services, was commissioned by Brisbane City Council in August 2025, following six complaints to the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) and found it breached the Council’s Code of Conduct.
According to the preliminary findings, the investigator determined that Councillor Massey contravened several behavioural standards set out in the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland, amounting to a conduct breach under section 150K(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 2009 (Qld).
The six complaints, lodged between 29 August and 16 September 2024, alleged that the article:
– Breached policies and procedures of Council;
– Represented extremely biased and inaccurate information;
– Provided a false narrative of the Israel-Arab conflict;
– Incited hatred against Zionists and Israelis;
– Used rate payer funds to produce an antisemitic document about an overseas
conflict which is not related to Council business or the local community, and
instead represented the Councillor’s personal political views;
– Utilised an embedded QR code to direct readers to a ‘Blackfulla-Palestinian
Solidarity’ website which was not relevant to the local government area;
– Made Australia-Israeli residents in the councillor’s division feel unsafe about
the unsolicited Article distributed in their local area.
The OIA assessed the complaints collectively and referred the matter back to Brisbane City Council for investigation.
During a Brisbane City Council meeting in September 2024, a motion was moved by the Deputy Mayor calling on Councillor Massey to repay ratepayers for the cost of producing and distributing the newsletter.
The motion also urged her to reflect on advice from the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which had warned politicians to avoid inflammatory language about the Middle East conflict.
The investigation found that more than 30,000 copies of the newsletter were printed and distributed at a cost of approximately $20,000, all reimbursed from councillor ward funds. The investigator noted that, under council policy, accountability for ward budget expenditure ultimately rests with the councillor.
FairFact found sufficient evidence that Councillor Massey breached the following standards of behaviour:
- failing to comply with council policies and procedures
- not having proper regard for the rights, safety, cultural differences and welfare of others
- failing to clearly distinguish between personal views and views expressed on behalf of the council
- acting in a way that diminished public trust and confidence in local government.
The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies (QJBD) welcomed the investigation’s findings, describing the outcome as a critical step toward restoring accountability and social cohesion in Brisbane, particularly amid heightened concerns about antisemitism across Australia.
QJBD president Jason Steinberg said the sanction sent a clear message that hate and vilification had no place in public office.
“This sanction sends a crucial and clear message: there must be zero tolerance for the promotion of hate and vilification in public life,” Mr Steinberg said.
“For too long, Cr Massey and the Queensland Greens have been blinded by harmful political ideologies that have crossed the line from political debate into the demonisation of the Jewish community.”
Mr Steinberg said local government representatives had no mandate to prosecute foreign affairs using taxpayer-funded platforms.
“As a Brisbane City Councillor, Cr Massey has no foreign affairs mandate. Her focus should be on infrastructure, public transport, and the environment,” he said.
“Instead, she has used her taxpayer-funded platform to spread distortions and propaganda that echo some of history’s darkest periods.”
He also referenced warnings from Australia’s security agencies.
“The Director-General of ASIO has been explicit: political leaders must watch their words. Cr Massey has ignored this warning, choosing instead to use tactics that dehumanise Jews,” Mr Steinberg said.
“The real-world consequences are devastating. In her own ward, Jewish residents are now scared to identify themselves, performers have been cancelled from local clubs, and people have been made to feel unwelcome in spaces they have loved for generations.”
Mr Steinberg said the findings confirmed that the conduct was not an isolated incident.
“The investigation’s findings confirm that this is not an isolated incident; it is a symptom of a deeper, systemic rot within the Queensland Greens,” he said.
The QJBD called on the Queensland Greens to issue a formal apology to the Jewish community and to implement meaningful internal reforms and penalties for party members who promote hate or vilification.
Councillor Massey participated in a formal interview in October 2025. She defended the article, stating it was intended to highlight the experiences of a local resident of Palestinian background and to draw attention to what she described as a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
She maintained that the article was academically researched, did not target Jewish people, and reflected her role as an elected representative addressing issues affecting constituents.
Councillor Massey also argued that the newsletter was approved through council processes and that councillors had previously commented on international issues.
