Former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale has been sentenced to seven and a half years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to corruption, fraud and sexual assault.

Among 30 offences he was charged with, Mr Pisasale took money intended for an elderly victim of crime that was donated for security screens, and was involved in dishonest land deals.

Former police minister and Ipswich MP Jo-Ann Miller raised the alarm about the popular mayor, and told Scott Emerson neither Annastacia Palaszczuk nor the rest of the Labor party took her concerns seriously enough.

“There were a lot of things going down in Ipswich which broke the law … however, they chose to ignore me.

“This could’ve been nipped in the bud a lot earlier, in my view.”

She said the Pisasale case represents a much broader corruption problem.

“Something’s dreadfully wrong in local government in Queensland … This is only the start.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Nine News