{"id":405142,"date":"2025-11-26T04:20:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/405142\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T04:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:20:26","slug":"ratepayers-money-used-for-strip-club-drinks-joondalup-councillor-nige-jones-admits-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/405142\/","title":{"rendered":"Ratepayers\u2019 money used for strip club drinks, Joondalup councillor Nige Jones admits \u2018mistake\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Joondalup councillor busted for billing ratepayers for a drink at a strip club is facing further scrutiny after questions were raised about his military service.<\/a><\/p>\n

One-time mayoral aspirant Nige Jones, who claims he unwittingly walked into an Adelaide strip club while chasing a late-night drink to cure insomnia, is fending off accusations he embellished his service record.<\/p>\n

In a candidate statement at this year\u2019s mayoral election, Cr Jones told electors in Joondalup his integrity was forged by \u201c11 years military service in British Special Air Service Regiment, Royal Military Police, Australian Pilbara Regiment & RAAF\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cr Jones never qualified for the British SAS. When the Australian SAS Historical Foundation received confirmation from the UK that he never obtained his beret, they wrote to the City of Joondalup requesting that Cr Jones no longer wear an SAS tie he had \u201cerroneously\u201d been allowed to buy from Campbell Barracks.<\/p>\n

In 2015 Cr Jones was denied an Australian Defence Medal on the grounds he \u201cdid not complete his initial enlistment period\u201d and \u201chad only completed two years efficient service and not the four years of efficient service (aggregated) required\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"NigeCamera IconNige Jones. Credit: Nige Jones\/facebook\/supplied<\/p>\n

Cr Jones told The West Australian he stood by his claim of \u201cservice in the British Special Air Service Regiment\u201d because he had trained with the regiment in preparation for the qualification he failed to obtain. A \u201cproof of service\u201d document provided by the British Army mentions the fleeting SAS connection in 1981.<\/p>\n

The controversy over his resume erupted as Cr Jones explained how he ended up in a strip club while travelling on council business.<\/p>\n

Cr Jones, who campaigned on the slogan \u201cThe People\u2019s Voice for Common Sense\u201d claims he did not realise he was in a strip club until a woman start dancing in front of him in a bikini. He says he drank his beer \u201cas quickly as he could\u201d and left the Crazy Horse Revue.<\/p>\n

He said the reimbursement claim for the beer he consumed there was a simple mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left dinner at the Little Hunter at 7.18pm too (sic) return to my accommodation 905\/96 North Tce to go to sleep as I had an early flight back to Perth in the morning,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had restless sleep so decided to go out and have an alcoholic drink to help me relax. I walked two minutes to the nearest bar (entered with no cover charge) and ordered a beer in a bar at 11.08pm named The Crazy Horse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had only been out my bed 15 minutes when a dancer came out on the bar floor to dance in a bikini. Consequently I came to my senses promptly and drank my beer as quickly as I could and left the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I add I am not familiar with Adelaide CBD. I walked to another bar called Memphis Slim which was busy so getting served took some time.<\/p>\n

\n

This incident is a clear reminder that ethical decision-making is fundamental to public service. I expect all councillors to learn from this and ensure it does not happen again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI ordered a Guinness which is poured in stages and purchased it at 11.55pm.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsequently if you do the maths with a 15 minute walk and a 10 minute wait to get served, it equates to leaving The Crazy Horse approximately 11.30. These timings support my statement that when I realised my mistake I promptly departed. (20 minutes max in there)<\/p>\n

\u201cA genuine mistake. Given I never felt I intentionally seeked (sic) a strip bar or stayed to take in the dances I submitted all my refreshment receipts from the trip for reimbursement.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously it is wrong for a councillor to be in such a venue I wasn\u2019t reimbursed by COJ so I don\u2019t have to pay anything back. I have submitted a reflective action plan to COJ as requested and booked to attend ethical decision-making course requested by COJ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crazy Horse promotes itself as Australia\u2019s \u201cmost iconic gentleman\u2019s club for over 40 years\u201d and promises guests a night with \u201cadventurous girls\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf what you\u2019re looking for is the best strip club in Australia, you\u2019ve come to the right place,\u201d the Hindley Street club says on its website.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our flirty women looking to ensure you have a fun and wild night, you can expect to nothing but top tier entertainment at The Crazy Horse!<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the best strippers in Adelaide, and with the finest selection drinks, you\u2019re sure to have a great experience.<\/p>\n

\"CrazyCamera IconCrazy Horse. Credit: Google Maps\/supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re celebrating a birthday, bucks night, or a simple night out with friends, The Crazy Horse has all the excitement you could need!\u201d<\/p>\n

Crazy Horse sprung to national attention in 2017 when Australian Idol runner-up Shannon Noll was involved in a late-night altercation outside the club.<\/p>\n

A censure notice published by the City of Joondalup said that \u201con 13 November 2025 Cr Jones was found to have not met the standards expected as outlined in the Code of Conduct\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn 26 August 2025 he submitted an expense claim for costs associated with attending a conference,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis claim for reimbursement of an alcoholic beverage at the Crazy Horse Revue and attendance at this establishment while on City-funded travel does not meet the standards expected of a council member.<\/p>\n

\u201cCr Jones is required to complete an education course on ethical decision making and provide a written reflection on his actions within 30 days or as otherwise agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joondalup Mayor Daniel Kingston said he was \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d by Cr Jones\u2019 behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to stress this does not reflect the conduct or professionalism of other elected members, who continue to serve our community with dedication and integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident is a clear reminder that ethical decision-making is fundamental to public service. I expect all councillors to learn from this and ensure it does not happen again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis process should reassure our community that the City will identify and address any instance of poor behaviour, and the public can have confidence that we will uphold accountability and protect the integrity of local government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City of Joondalup remains committed to strong governance and maintaining the trust placed in us by our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said the strip club incident was \u201cclearly not appropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cook Labor Government has introduced reforms to the local government sector to strengthen oversight of the behaviour of local government council members,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom 1 January, 2026 the Local Government Inspector will have powers to investigate and address these types of incidents and potentially apply penalties.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur reforms have strengthened these penalties including the potential for council members to be suspended for breaches of the code of conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll council members need to remember that they are the custodian and trustee for ratepayers\u2019 money and need to spend it ethically and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Joondalup councillor busted for billing ratepayers for a drink at a strip club is facing further scrutiny…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":405143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,77882,2650,50,17354,28885,14737,80,8632],"class_list":{"0":"post-405142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-joondalup","10":"tag-local-government","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-north","13":"tag-offbeat","14":"tag-perth","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-wa-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115614085525550404","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}