Another mayor cops caution

A SECOND Tasmanian mayor this week has had a code of conduct complaint upheld against them.

Resident Malcolm Gardam lodged a complaint against Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff alleging that at the Devonport City Council annual general meeting held in December, Cr Rockliff “arbitrarily closed the meeting in such a way that members of the public in attendance were prevented from bringing forward further business for the meeting”.

In its report to be tabled at Monday’s council meeting, the

Code of Conduct Panel upheld the complaint against Cr Rockliff and will impose a caution.

She will be required to apologise to the people who were at the council’s AGM.

“The Mayor’s admission she decided to close the meeting because she considered the AGM was being used as an opportunity to embarrass her personally, indicates her mind was not open to ensuring all community members were given a reasonable opportunity to speak to the meeting,” the panel found.

“This finding is supported by the Mayor’s audible sighs when inviting a particular member of the public to ask a question … In conducting the meeting, the Mayor made a number of false assumptions about her authority in running the meeting.

“However, the Mayor acknowledged freely in hearing that she had not run the meeting well, that she would now do it differently if she could and that she had made some errors of judgment in her decisions.”

A code of conduct panel will also caution Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds after being found to have caused former alderman Tanya Denison offence and embarrassment in a report made public on Wednesday.