THE Southern Downs Regional Council did not consult Jamie Mackenzie before announcing his disqualification as a councillor. More than three weeks on, aside from claiming it was informed by a third party, the council still refuses to clarify who informed it of Mr Mackenzie's financial position and when.

A council-issued statement on February 10, a day after it announced he had been disqualified as a councillor because he was bankrupt, quoted Mayor Peter Blundell as saying the council had yet to receive "any advice or formal notification from Mr Mackenzie about his qualification to be a councillor".

"While Mr Mackenzie and I have not seen eye to eye on many issues to come before council over the last four years, it is important to recognise his need for privacy at a time like this," Cr Peter Blundell said.

"I recognise the challenges of being consistently in the public eye and the organisation has offered Mr Mackenzie assistance under the Employee Assistance Program, should he wish to take up that offer.

"Council did not provide detailed comment yesterday as council needed to ensure the process and the information was correct.

"Council also believed it was important that Mr Mackenzie had the opportunity to explain his situation.

"However, whilst advice has been received from other parties in relation to the status of Mr Mackenzie's qualification to be a councillor, council has not received any advice or formal notification from Mr Mackenzie about his qualification to be a councillor."

A day later, Mr Mackenzie was dead.

APN News and Media sought clarification from the council regarding when and how it was informed of Mr Mackenzie's bankruptcy and subsequent disqualification as councillor.

CEO David Keenan declined to comment.

"To be clear, council is not making any comment, as per the Mackenzie family's express wishes," he said.