Hobart City councillor Louise Elliot breached code of conduct over posts on X

Hobart City councillor Louise Elliot landed in hot water when she failed to moderate social media comments. Here’s why a code of conduct panel says she put the council’s reputation at risk.

Helen Burnet and Louise Elliot

Hobart City councillor Louise Elliot put the council at risk of reputational damage, when she failed to moderate the comments of a social media post, a code of conduct panel has found – but Ms Elliot says she’ll challenge the decision.

The complaint, lodged by former deputy mayor Helen Burnet, alleged Ms Elliot breached the code of conduct when she posted on X (formerly Twitter) about a council workshop in September last year.

Ms Elliot took to social media after the workshop, about inclusion and gender diversity, posting a document with ‘frequently asked questions about gender identity’, provided to councillors.

“ … this ‘fact sheet’ was given as part of the “inclusion training” (re-education) that was imposed on me by the Hobart City Council,” Ms Elliot said last year.

Councillor Louise Elliot. Picture: Chris Kidd

In her complaint, Ms Burnet said Ms Elliot sought to damage the council’s reputation.

She said the word “re-education” had ‘connotations related to totalitarian regimes’.

The panel found the use of the words ‘imposed’ and ‘re-education’ were inappropriate and brought the council into disrepute.

It said the workshop was not “imposed” because it was not compulsory.

“Neither term could be fairly used to describe the decision to hold the workshop or the workshop itself,” they said.

“Both were intended to be derogatory.”

Greens member for Clark, Helen Burnet was Hobart deputy mayor. Last year she lodged a complaint about Louise Elliot. Picture: Chris Kidd

Ms Elliot told the panel she believed the workshop was directed at her after she moved a gender related motion in February last year, but the notion was rejected.

The complaint also related to a letter Ms Elliot received from Ms Burnet, expressing disappointment about the post, which Ms Elliot also published online.

The panel said both posts prompted negative comments directed at Ms Burnet and at the council.

It was found Ms Elliot failed to moderate the comments, including replies which said “Tell them politely to F*** OFF,” “What a f***wit,” “Twit” and “Tell them to go to hell”.

“There is a need for councillors to actively manage content added on their pages and under their posts,” the panel found.

“Cr Elliot facilitated the offensive comments … and in failing to moderate them, exposed the entire council to potential reputational damage”

The panel rejected claims Ms Elliot had caused offence or embarrassment to Ms Burnet.

She was cautioned as a result of the findings.

Ms Elliot said she would appeal the code of conduct decision, because comments could not be deleted.

On X, there is no option to ‘delete’ comments, but replies can, however, be hidden by the publisher of a post.

“I cannot control what other people say and the functionality to delete comments on X doesn’t exist,” she said.

“I didn’t say these things – other people did – and I can’t delete them, yet it’s somehow my fault.”