Queensland council votes to rename bridge named for disgraced former mayor

Ipswich City Council has voted to rename the controversial Paul Pisasale Bridge, named for the disgraced former mayor of the south-east Queensland city.

Pisasale is serving a seven-and-a-half-year jail sentence for a range of offences including fraud and sexual assault, sparking a push from residents to rename the landmark.

"It's probably the second most question I get asked in the community every day since I've become the mayor is when are you changing those names," mayor Teresa Harding said.

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The decision to remove the family name from the Paul Pisasale Bridge and Pisasale Drive was finalised in December last year.

But councillor Paul Tully moved a motion to maintain the name 12 days ago with three councillors in support of the decision.

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Following public backlash, the councillors changed their minds.

A vote on the decision was made in the town's council chambers on Tuesday.

Councillor Sheila Ireland and Tully — Pisasale's former deputy — abstained from voting.

"The two councillors that did abstain and didn't vote to remove the names are the two dismissed councillors so I'll leave that up to residents to make of that what they will," Harding said.

Members of the public wrote to council demanding the names be changed.

"I write to express in the strongest terms my outrage and abhorrence," one resident wrote.

"I am absolutely disgusted and feel ashamed to be part of a city that would do this."

The bridge and Pisasale Drive, named for the former mayor's parents, will be renamed in the coming weeks.

Until a new name is finalised, Pisasale Bridge will be nameless.

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