Four elected members, Holly Ewin, Zelinda Sherlock, Mike Dutta and Simon Behrakis, are shaking up Hobart City Council

New faces on the Hobart City Council are challenging the old ways in Town Hall.

SINCE their election last October, they’ve tackled pill testing, initiated a social inclusion index and abolished the $3 EFTPOS minimum for parking meters — and Hobart’s four newest elected members say they’re not done yet.

Undoubtedly, today’s Hobart City Council represents more sections of the community than ever before, with a majority of that down to the new councillors and aldermen — Holly Ewin, Zelinda Sherlock, Mike Dutta and Simon Behrakis.

Deputy Lord Mayor Helen Burnet, who has been on the council since 2005, said the 2018 election was a significant deviation from the norm.

Mike Dutta, left, Holly Ewin, Simon Behrakis and Zelinda Sherlock form part of Hobart City Council’s new guard after being elected in October 2018. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

“It’s an influx of newer faces, with that comes new ideas,” she said.

And those ideas have certainly flowed.

One of the first was a motion to allow elected members to change their titles to councillor from alderman, and another resulted in a free tampon vending machine trial installed in a public rest room — both initiative’s of Cr Ewin.

“I feel like I’ve been able to do some pretty excellent things in terms of raising issues that haven’t been raised before,” Cr Ewin said.

Hobart City Council Councillor Holly Ewin. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

“I thought I was going to hate it, full of boring process and meetings [but] it’s been really rewarding and a lot of hard work.”

Cr Ewin’s advocacy also prompted State Government action on homelessness through a motion to create a Greater Hobart crisis forum.

“If you’ve got a decent argument, people usually listen,” Cr Ewin said.

“It’s been quite encouraging that we can bring things from the community to council and then push it further along as well to other levels of government.

“It’s never a wrong place or time to advocate for positive change. If I thought it was just roads, rates and rubbish I never would have stood — that’s boring and stupid.

“Even if I don’t have the power to change unjust laws from where I am, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t use my platform to say this here is wrong and we need to be doing better.”

Councilor Zelinda Sherlock at an open Hobart City Council meeting to discuss building heights. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Cr Sherlock said she thought the current diversity of the council meant individuals were more respectful of each other.

“I think we’ve been able to represent different aspects of the community that were either marginalised or their voices were not being heard as much as before,” she said.

“The eclectic nature of the people that currently make up the council means our strength is that we can now represent a wider scope of the community.”

Cr Burnet agrees.

“Four out of 12 is a significant injection of new people and with that comes a diversity in the way you might look at things, diversity because of background, interests and age,” she said. “We live in a really progressive part of the state and the country and it’s been reflected in that diversity — it’s been positive with these different areas of interest being represented.”

Cr Sherlock has been able to help establish a Housing With Dignity reference group to hear from people with lived experiences of homelessness, investigate the increased provision of English classes for refugees and migrants in Hobart and a motion to look at installing signs using in Aboriginal languages to welcome people into the city.

As for working alongside her dad, Cr Dutta, Cr Sherlock said it’s “fabulous”. And even though they sit next to each other in the chamber, they don’t always vote the same.

“I’m at the stage of my life where Dad is my friend and we do differ on ideas,” she said.

“He raised me that way to be able to have my own ideas and opinions.”

Councilor Mike Dutta at an open Hobart City Council meeting. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Cr Dutta said in the chamber they were not father and daughter, but individuals wearing their councillors’ hat to make decisions they believed were best for the community.

Cr Dutta has become the wise man of the council with his colleagues often in awe of his inspirational speeches during debates.

“As long as my mind is active and while I may be the oldest in there, I think I have quite an alert and active mind that keeps me in tune,” he said.

“I’ve been humbled, and I count it a privilege, an honour and a great pleasure to represent the people because they put their confidence in me.”

He has been particularly proud of his work raising more than $2000 for Hobart City Mission on the last night of Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast.

Ald Behrakis said he’d been doing his best to focus on areas the council could control and would make a difference to ratepayers.

“There’s so many people in the council at the moment that seem to be wanting to use their position as local government representatives to grandstand on state or federal issues,” he said.

“The pill testing motion is a good example, as was the council recently passing a motion to join the United Nations nuclear weapons ban treaty?”

Councilor Simon Behrakis at an open Hobart City Council meeting to discuss building heights. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Ald Behrakis said he was proud that within the first three months of the new council it had approved as many residential developments as all of last year.

Ald Behrakis was also responsible for the motion which saw the rates increase reduced from 3.5 to 3.25 per cent and had initiated an investigation into the technology used in parking meters to prevent motorists feeding the meter.

Ald Behrakis feels the community had been happy to see a shake-up of the council, as one of the common complaints people had about the previous council was it seemed resistant to change.

And what’s next for Hobart’s newest members? who have certainly hit the ground running since coming to office last year.

Cr Ewin wasn’t sure if there were any “mad plans” for “mad motions” in the pipeline but would continue to push the limits.

“I’ll drop as many truth bombs in there as I can because this might be the only crack I get in public office so I want to make it count,” Cr Ewin said.

Ald Behrakis said he was going to pick through the council budget with a fine-tooth comb.

“Before we start asking the ratepayers for more money, are we spending the money they’re currently giving us properly and could we be spending it more efficiently,” he said.

Cr Dutta said his next goals would be to keep pushing strong multicultural policies, while Cr Sherlock would also look to create action plans in the areas of racism, prejudice and dealing with domestic violence.

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