We, the undersigned, call on Hobart City Council and Minister for Local Government to take action on Councillor Zelinda Sherlock and her father, Councillor Michael Dutta.

Information released under Right to Information concerning the removal of products from Town Hall raises serious concerns about the conduct of Councilor Zelinda Sherlock, the Council’s coverup response and her father - Michael Dutta's - voting against his daughter being investigated.

Information shows that on Sunday, 7th January 2024 at approximately 8.40am, Zelinda Sherlock and an unknown party entered Town Hall and accessed Town Hall. It further indicates that on Wednesday, 10th January 2024 at approximately 10.15pm, Cr Sherlock and a party accessed Town Hall.

On both occasions, Cr Sherlock and her associate are recorded as entering with an empty bag and leaving with a full bag. Their movements appear to have been direct and purposeful: entering Town Hall, going to the Elected Member Lounge, returning to the car, then returning to the Lounge a second time before going back to the car again.

The late-night visit on 10 January 2024 coincided with a period in which a comprehensive list of stock, including alcohol, was reported missing from Town Hall. The RTI information also indicates that the key to the supplies cupboard had been moved in June 2023.

Cr Sherlock has admitted that she had been taking products from Town Hall for “a number of years”. She has claimed that she believed these items were available as “fringe benefits” and that she misunderstood the applicable policy. We do not accept that this explanation adequately resolves the matter.

Elected representatives are entrusted with public resources and are expected to meet a high standard of judgement, honesty, transparency and accountability. The repeated removal of Council products from Town Hall, particularly outside ordinary hours, including on a Sunday morning and late at night when the building was largely empty, is incompatible with the standards expected of an elected member.

We are also deeply concerned by Council’s response. Staff were sufficiently concerned to escalate the matter to senior management yet were reportedly told to keep the matter confidential. Earlier this year, a proposal was put forward for Cr Sherlock’s admitted removal of products from Town Hall to be independently investigated. That proposal was voted down, including my her own father and fellow members of her political faction.

Councillors also voted against the development of an Elected Member Misconduct Policy and against the release of information that has now only been obtained through Right to Information.

This is unacceptable. When elected members are the subject of serious integrity concerns, the answer should be independent scrutiny, not secrecy, delay or avoidance.

We therefore call on Cr Zelinda Sherlock to resign from Hobart City Council.

We further call on Hobart City Council to formally sanction Cr Michael Dutta in relation to his participation in votes concerning matters involving his own daughter.

A councillor should not participate in Council decisions where there is, or may reasonably be perceived to be, a personal or family conflict of interest.

Cr Dutta’s participation in such votes raises serious concerns about conflict of interest management and public confidence in Council decision-making. Even the perception that a councillor may have participated in matters connected to an immediate family member is damaging to the integrity of Council processes.

The people of Hobart deserve a Council that protects public resources, manages conflicts of interest properly, applies standards consistently, and is willing to subject elected members to independent investigation when serious concerns arise.

We therefore petition Hobart City Council to:

• Publicly acknowledge the seriousness of the RTI-released information concerning the removal of products from Town Hall;
  
  Call for the resignation of Cr Zelinda Sherlock;
  
  Formally sanction Cr Michael Dutta for participating in votes involving matters connected to his daughter;
  
  Strengthen conflict of interest rules and ensure councillors do not participate in matters involving immediate family members;
  
  Commit to transparent, independent processes whenever serious integrity allegations involve elected members.
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Public office is a privilege. Public resources are not private benefits. Accountability should not be optional.