‘Extremely unprofessional’: Tasmanian councillor caught drinking on the job during online meeting

A Tasmanian councillor has been called “extremely unprofessional” after he was caught out by colleagues on a group video call.

A Tasmanian councillor has been caught on camera drinking beer during a live streamed virtual meeting.

During Kingborough council’s public meeting on Monday night, councillor David Grace was seen taking a swig from what appeared to be a Cascade Draught beer can towards the end of the two hour open session.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the council has moved its meetings online via Microsoft Teams.

In the video posted to the Kingborough council’s YouTube channel, Mr Grace is seen looking away from the screen before grabbing the can, tilting his head back and having a drink.

Tasmanian councillor David Grace (bottom right) was caught taking a swig from a beer can during a virtual council meeting. Picture: Supplied

Deputy Mayor Jo Westwood, who is on leave and did not attend the meeting, was alerted to Mr Grace’s actions by a ratepayer.

While she said drinking alcohol during a council meeting may not have breached any rules, she labelled the man’s actions as “extremely unprofessional”.

“It would be very brazen to sit there and drink a beer (at a council meeting) in person, so what’s different when working from home and it’s a live recording via YouTube?,” Ms Westwood told The Mercury.

“He hasn’t done anything technically wrong, it’s more about the fact that he’s an elected representative of the community, representing 40,000 people.”

The council was contacted for comment but declined to speak with NCA NewsWire.

Kingborough deputy mayor Jo Westwood said the actions of Mr Grace (pictured) were “extremely unprofessional”. Picture: Kenji Sato