Alderman Simon Behrakis ‘crossed the line’ over personal attacks on Hobart Mayor Anna Reynolds

An outspoken Hobart City alderman has offered his “unreserved apology” to the Lord Mayor over a series of Facebook posts. LATEST >>

LATEST: OUTSPOKEN Hobart City alderman Simon Behrakis apologised to Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds and the council at a meeting on Monday night.

Ald Behrakis had a code of conduct complaint against him upheld over a series of social media posts that targeted the Lord Mayor.

In a curt apology he said he had been clear about his views on the determination but as per the requirements of the determination he offered his “unreserved apology”.

EARLIER: ALDERMAN Simon Behrakis will face Hobart City Mayor Anna Reynolds at the council meeting this afternoon.

Ald Behrakis has been ordered to apologise to the mayor after she lodged a complaint against him with the Code of Conduct panel.

The complaints were related to a number of social media posts made by the alderman about the Lord Mayor.

Ald Behrakis will likely apologise to the mayor at tonight’s meeting even though he said he “categorically disagrees” with the panel’s findings.

Councillor ‘crossed the line’ over attacks on mayor – Friday, May 7

A HOBART alderman is in hot water after a Code of Conduct panel found a number of his Facebook posts embarrassed the mayor.

Hobart City Mayor Anna Reynolds lodged a complaint against Alderman Simon Behrakis, saying a number of his social media posts targeted her personally.

According to the panel decision: “Cr Reynolds alleged that during the relevant six month period, many of Ald Behrakis’s public posts on his ‘Ald Simon Behrakis’ Facebook page were designed to damage her professional reputation, and to incite his followers to make abusive and insulting statements about her, many of which, she alleged, were unmoderated, and should have been removed from his Facebook page.”

Alderman Simon Behrakis.

Hobart City Mayor Anna Reynolds. Picture: Richard Jupe

Cr Reynolds’ complaint referred to seven matters:

• An article published on Ald Behrakis’s Facebook page (May 26, 2020) and on LinkedIn containing the phrase ‘Favours for mates’ in reference to Cr Reynolds
• “Alleged manipulation of images of Cr Reynolds” on his Facebook page
• The process of selection of a new general manager in October 2020 as related on Ald Behrakis’s Facebook page
• A Facebook post regarding a parking issue in North Hobart (September 23, 2020)
• A Facebook post regarding a Code of Conduct determination (August 20, 2020)
• A Facebook post regarding Cr Reynolds’ published comments about funding decisions and the Taste of Tasmania (May 24, 2020)
• The publication of items listed above and subsequent posts on Ald Behrakis’s Facebook page from third parties, some of which were deemed by Cr Reynolds to be in breach of the Code.

One of the offending Facebook posts in Cr Reynolds’ complaint.

The complaint also alleged that Ald Behrakis’s social media pages were regularly in breach of the Hobart City Council’s Social Media Guidelines policy.

According to the findings, the panel received a response to the complaint from Ald Behrakis on January 19, 2021, which was sent to Cr Reynolds.

After numerous meetings of the panel, where clarifications between both parties were made, Cr Reynolds requested a hearing be held — which was done on April 27.

Ald Marti Zucco attended as a support person for Ald Behrakis.

As part of the hearing, Ald Behrakis said if the Code of Conduct complaint was upheld it would “unreasonably restrict him from freely expressing his views on political matters”.

He also said it “would be unduly onerous” to constantly monitor any third party comments on his social media posts.

A Facebook post on Simon Behrakis’s page.

When scrutinising the ‘Favours for mates’ Facebook post, the panel said the term in a political context “implies wrongdoing” and found the post breached the Code of Conduct.

“Ald Behrakis was unable to give good reason for the use of this phrase, and could not provide evidence that there was any particular friendship between Cr Reynolds and the Mayor of Glenorchy to justify the use of mates,” the decision reads.

“Third party comments used the words ‘corrupt’ and ‘dodgy’, indicating that Ald Behrakis’s readers interpreted his phrasing as indicating wrongdoing by Cr Reynolds.”

The panel dismissed Cr Reynolds’ complaint that Ald Behrakis altered and coloured images of the mayor in his posts, stating it was “not necessarily unfair, offensive, or embarrassing, nor would it affect council’s reputation as a whole”.

Issuing a statement this morning, Cr Reynolds said she welcomed the panel’s decision.

“It confirms my own opinion: that on a number of occasions Ald Behrakis’s posts crossed the line of what is acceptable in political debate,” Cr Reynolds said.

“Several of Ald Behrakis’s social media posts were misleading, untruthful and encouraged people to make abusive comments about myself and Council decisions.

Another post Cr Reynolds found offensive.

“I don’t shy away from robust debate on policy issues, but basic respect is essential and personal attacks are never OK. It’s also not OK to misrepresent council decisions, which the panel found Ald Behrakis did on a number of occasions.”

Cr Reynolds said the community expects councillors to “maintain standards of civility and call out unacceptable behaviour when we see it”.

“ … This is what I did,” she said. “Unless we can create spaces where everyone is able to share their opinion without being subject to bullying and abuse – politics will never attract the diversity of representation it so badly needs.”

Ald Behrakis has been directed to apologise to Cr Reynolds and the council at Monday’s meeting.

But the councillor says he “categorically disagrees” with the panel’s suggestions.

“This decision does however vindicate the almost unanimous decision by LGAT to declare a motion of no confidence in the code of conduct process, due to the inconsistent decisions, the vague and ever shifting goalposts and the vulnerability of the process to be weaponised by those seeking to silence political opposition,” Ald Behrakis said.

“Too many councillors have expressed their reluctance on speaking out on political issues in council and in the public out of fear of falling foul of the panel’s inconsistent rulings.”

He said the determination by the panel was “disappointing, yet unsurprising, and once again sets a dangerous precedence for political discourse at the local government level, the result of which will only be poorer outcomes for ratepayers”.

“It is reassuring to see that the State Government is considering reform of this process,” Ald Behrakis said.

“As per the motion moved by LGAT, the current system requires a complete overhaul before a proper balance is reached between ensuring good governance, and promoting and defending free and open political discourse, which is a cornerstone of the democratic process.”