UPDATED 8th November 2024

Since my election I’ve had tremendous support and encouragement from residents throughout the Douglas Shire.

As a Councillor for Douglas Shire, I am committed to fostering a respectful and honest dialogue with our residents. To facilitate this, I have chosen to turn off comments on most social media platforms.

My goal is to prioritize meaningful, face-to-face interactions, as well as phone calls and emails, which I believe are the gold standards of communication.

I believe that this approach will help restore dignity and respect in our conversations, ultimately driving positive change in our community.

Recently I've been sent screenshots of social media comments (I generally don't read comments) and it's evident some page Admins clearly lack the understanding of the potential legal implications they are exposing themselves too.

In September 2021 the Australian High Court made a ruling that social media users and publishers are liable for defamatory comments made on their social pages. It's for this reason that I block all comments on social media across all platforms.

I've done so since day one.

I understand the risks completely and I'm too busy serving my community to be monitoring social media comments which is why they are turned off.

I truly enjoy meeting residents of Douglas Shire and am eager to connect with more of you.

Some of my most meaningful, memorable and productive experiences have been come from face-to-face interactions with Douglas Shire residents.

It remains evident that face-to-face conversations, phone calls and emails remain the gold standard in communication and social media is useful but clearly not the real world.

Please feel free to reach out to me at 0459 022 097 or michael.rees@douglas.qld.gov.au.

let's just keep it real!

See you in the real world.

Councillor Michael Joseph Rees.