Council caught out over carols

THE organisers of Hobart’s Carols by Candlelight were not encouraged to apply for funding for this year’s event because of an “administrative error”, the council heard last night.

After winning a tender to produce last year’s event at the Royal Botanical Gardens, ExitLeft this year decided to run a smaller indoor event without council funding.

As part of a revamp of carols this year, the council decided to help fund seven smaller community events.

But the council heard last night ExitLeft should have been encouraged to also apply for a grant — but this was left off the final motion agreed to by aldermen at a previous meeting.

In March the Mercury revealed Hobart aldermen agreed in a closed meeting to no longer be directly involved in running a large-scale carols event at the Royal Botanical Gardens or St David’s Park. The council instead invited community groups to apply for grants to run events across the city.

It also agreed to encourage ExitLeft — which last month announced it would hold a Carols by Candlelight indoors at St David’s Cathedral — to apply for a grant.

It was also proposed the council consider giving ExitLeft free tickets to offer to the community.

But Hobart aldermen last night heard these sections of the motion were left out of the minutes.

Hobart general manager Nick Heath said the minutes from the closed meeting were incorrectly transcribed.

“It was an administrative error,” he said.

The council’s shake-up of the carols format generated major public and political backlash against the council last month.

The corrected amendment to the carols funding motion was originally going to be in a closed meeting last night, but Ald Marti Zucco moved that it be in an open session.

Ald Zucco and Ald Jeff Briscoe debated whether this meant Ald Zucco originally suggested the change in direction for the carols program.

Ald Briscoe said the “truth was finally out”.

“I think it’s great that the truth is out, Ald Zucco did not support an event at St David’s,” he said.

Ald Zucco said the shift to small-scale carols originated from committee.

“My amendment is very clear, it’s only and/or councilrun events, so I was pushing both barrels,” he said.

A separate motion by Ald Zucco for a report to consider whether a major carols event could still be held this year did not get a seconder at council and was not discussed.

I think it’s great that the truth is out, Ald Zucco did not support an event at St David’s

— JEFF BRISCOE