Hobart City Council cancelled after councillors leave meeting

A special meeting of the Hobart City Council convened to address allegations of discrimination and misinformation involving council staff, descended into chaos when several centre-right councillors staged a walkout. The meeting had been called to discuss a report detailing how staff had blocked Councillor Louise Elliot from booking a public venue, claiming concerns that her event could be construed as 'anti-transgender'.

Just 50 minutes into the session on Wednesday night, Alderman Marti Zucco proposed postponing proceedings until all elected members could review the unredacted report in its entirety.

"The taxpayers of Hobart deserve transparency. Each elected member should have the chance to scrutinize this report thoroughly," he argued. Zucco also highlighted the absence of Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds, who was in Canberra that day, suggesting the meeting be rescheduled to ensure her participation.

CEO Michael Stretton clarified that Reynolds' alleged involvement in leaking details of Elliot's booking did not influence the decision to block it. Nevertheless, Zucco, alongside Councillor Will Coates, Alderman Louise Bloomfield, and Councillor John Kelly, chose to leave the meeting after their motion failed, resulting in the assembly losing its quorum.

"It's evident that transparency is being obstructed here. I'm walking out. Goodbye," Zucco remarked as he exited. Consequently, the meeting was adjourned, leaving the CEO tasked with issuing a formal apology to Louise Elliot.

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