Staying Silent - You Endorse the Toxic Behaviour! This Isn’t Ok! Support this courageous woman, Judy Schulz who found her strong voice and spoke out publicly against her perpetrator.

Local South Burnett Division 6 resident Ms Judy Schulz was Scott Henschen’s campaign manager for the 2020 South Burnett Regional Council Elections. Ms Schulz managed an effective and successful campaign for Mr Henschen.

Some six weeks after Mr Henschen was sworn into office, Ms Schulz filed a complaint to the OIA for inappropriate conduct against him. That complaint became the subject of an investigation carried out by a Council Conduct Tribunal Investigator. As Ms Schulz filed that complaint members of the South Burnett Region and in particular constituents of Division 6 have learned through Civil proceedings in the Kingaroy Magistrates Court, the local media and Council’s website and confirmed by Ms Schulz & witnesses the following:

1.    Scott Henschen incited malicious behaviours seeking reprisal causing Ms Schulz emotional grief and harm and continued over a ten-month period parading rancorous and toxic tendencies towards her which is redoubtable.  

2.    Scott Henschen disclosed during a council related business phone call on Tuesday 2nd June 2020, to a Wondai constituent, Ms Schulz’s private and personal affairs along with the contents of a confidential and private email sent from Ms Schulz to Mr Henschen.

3.    Scott Henschen likewise divulged to the constituent the private conversations he & Ms Schulz shared during their time on the election campaign trail.

4.    Scott Henschen further discussed the private details of the domestic violence Ms Schulz suffered which included that she was assaulted when pregnant with her daughter and was held at gunpoint with her daughter in a hostage situation carried out by her ex-husband. Ms Schulz shared these lamentable acts of abuse with Mr Henschen in confidence.

5.    Scott Henschen furthermore flagrantly informed the constituent that he only used Ms Schulz for her marketing services to procure the Division 6 Councillor position and had no further use for her.

6.    Days after, Ms Schulz alerted the CEO & the Mayor of the unsatisfactory behaviour where she requested Mr Henschen stay away from her, he then unlawfully accessed Ms Schulz’s accounts on Friday the 5th June 2020, denying her access to her passwords, accounts and her credit card after she explicitly notified him via email on the 12th May 2020, stating he was no longer authorised to access the accounts.

7.    Scott Henschen, also on the 5th June 2020, unlawfully gained access to a website owned and built by Ms Schulz valued over $5,000.00. He changed the passwords denying Ms Schulz access to the site. Ms Schulz is a professional web designer and built this website for the purpose of the election campaign only for Mr Henschen.  Consequently, he refused to pay her for the website yet chose to unlawfully obtain the site for self-gain and after it had been unpublished, and after Ms Schulz complained to the Mayor and CEO of his unwarranted and unacceptable behaviour on 2nd June 2020.

8.    Scott Henschen still owes Ms Schulz thousands of dollars for expenses incurred during the campaign. Ms Schulz has engaged debt collectors to recover the monies owing.

9.    Scott Henschen additionally stalked and intimidated Ms Schulz at the Moffatdale Markets on Sunday 5th July 2020, where he watched her for a two-hour period and further attempted the same to her friend Ms Naomi Anderson at her place of employment the following day Monday 6th July 2020, in Wondai. Ms Anderson accompanied Ms Schulz at the Moffatdale Markets and witnessed the unacceptable behaviour.

10.  Scott Henschen assaulted Ms Schulz at the Hotel Cecil in Wondai on the 28th July 2020, witnessed by Ms Naomi Anderson, leaving Ms Schulz in a state of shock. Mr Henschen later returned where he sat directly in front of Ms Schulz at a VSB meeting turning his chair on an angle facing Ms Schulz staring at her for a duration of 3 hours to intimidate her.

11.  Scott Henschen on Sunday the 8th November 2020, conspired with his friends Laura & Jack Newbery, also the former employers of Mr Henschen’s deceased wife Sonya Henschen, to ambush Ms Schulz and Ms Anderson at the Coopers Gap Windfarm. This occurred 10 minutes after Ms Schulz & Ms Anderson passed Mr Henschen on Ironpot Road just near his property.

12.  A week after the ambush, Ms Schulz’s personal Facebook account was reported as being fake and consequently Facebook deleted her account.

13.  Several days after her Facebook account was deleted, her business signs at Cleggs Landscaping were cut down.

14.  On the 5th January 2021, Ms Schulz’s new Facebook account was reported as being fake and consequently Facebook deleted her account once more.

15.  Finally, on Wednesday 24th March 2021, Ms Schulz's her lawyer received correspondence from a Brisbane law firm advising Scott Henschen made defamatory allegations that Ms Schulz was sexually assaulted by a Kingaroy Businessman and again divulged excerpts of a private & confidential conversation to that third party. The OIA have this matter and full particulars currently on file.

The South Burnett Regional Council has a toxic culture with male councillors abusing women. Recently Mrs Florian announced that the Councillor Conduct Tribunal (CCT) found former South Burnett Regional Councillor Terry Fleischfresser had engaged in misconduct when he touched a woman in an unwanted and unwarranted manner. Councillor Gavin Jones was reprimanded and participated in counselling for bullying a female Councillor in 2018.

Furthermore, in reference to the original complaint submitted by Ms Schulz to the OIA in June 2020, it was publicised in Council’s Ordinary Meeting held Wednesday 24th March 2021, four of the seven councillors again made declarations of a conflict of interest.  

Mayor Otto later and after the meeting advised the media, he would make the decision by Wednesday 31st March and have Mark Pitt contact the parties. This was reported in the South Burnett Times and Council's own news publication South Burnett Online.  

Mayor Otto aborted delivering his verdict and instead of contacting the complainant (Ms Schulz) to inform her of his intentions, the Mayor broadcasted through the media he will make the announcement at a future council meeting.

Mayor Brett Otto has prevaricated the South Burnett Community and in particular Ms Schulz by not staying true to his word, failed to adhere to uphold a duty of care and expediently spared his friend, Councillor Henschen allowing him to celebrate his birthday which coincidentally was Wednesday 31st March and further allowed him to enjoy the Easter holidays while ignoring the complainant leaving her once more after ten months of suffering the trauma inflicted upon her by Mr Henschen, Mayor Otto left her waiting, hanging out to dry. 

Neither the Mayor or the CEO contacted the complainant or her legal representatives to advise the decision - instead Mayor Otto further spoke to journalist Neesha Sinnya and reported in the Burnett Today Newspaper, that the Mayor would announce his decision at a future Council Meeting. 

a)    The Mayor advised the media of his intentions before advising the complainant;

b)    The Mayor failed to deliver the outcome by the due date as stated to the media or in a timely fashion.

c)    The Mayor has had the report from the CCT since 15th December 2020. 

It is clearly evident that Mayor Otto is protecting Mr Henschen and by delaying this matter where he is deliberately dragging out the foreseeable. This has angered  community members and shows total disrespect to the complainant who is a woman and has been subject of horrendous abuse and harassment.

The South Burnett community demands transparency, honesty and due diligence particularly conveying this topic concerning Scott Henschen and Ms Schulz. This toxic perturbing behaviour from Scott Henschen is unacceptable. With sexual assaults, harassment and bullying a significant and a critical subject of behavioural standards in the current climate in the Public Service, Scott Henschen’s malevolent behaviour towards Ms Schulz is compelling and unacceptable.

The embodying Division 6 Councillor should represent their community with the highest integrity, due diligence and treat the constituents with the utmost respect and act in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Councillors in Queensland.

Scott Henschen is not a man of integrity nor is he worthy of the community’s support and respect. Mr Henschen is a man that does not deserve to hold the position as the Division 6 Councillor and it is concerning that if this is how he treats his campaign manager, the woman who worked assiduously to secure his elected position, not to mention how he also treated her friend, then how can the community have the confidence in this man to show common courtesy and respect towards the remaining constituents and work to achieve the goals the community rightfully deserves.

Due to the total disregard and disrespect towards Ms Schulz and Ms Anderson, two well respected female members of the Wondai society, the community has lost faith in this Councillor. Mr Henschen’s deplorable behaviour has brought the region and Council into disrepute with such actions and processes have been published in the media, shared on social media and tarnished this region's reputation.

Consequently, supporters have elected to show a no vote of confidence by signing this petition. Scott Henschen won the Division 6 seat by 4 four votes. The total votes for the Division 6 area totalled 2972.

Supporters request that Councillor Scott Henschen be removed from his position as the Division 6 Councillor effective immediately.

By Staying Silent - You Endorse the Toxic Behaviour! This Isn’t Ok! Support this courageous woman, Judy Schulz who found her strong voice and spoke out publicly against her perpetrator and sign to have Councillor Scott Henschen sacked!