Councillor Marti Zucco put an unusual spin on Monday night’s City of Hobart council meeting, bringing out a box of Cornflakes to address his concerns over budget transparency – particularly surrounding a rate hike for short stay and vacant land owners.
“You know you used to find surprises in cornflakes packets? Let me see what I find in here,” Zucco said as he pulled out a piece of paper.
“Look at this! Confidential information… But I’m going to share this confidential…”
Councillor Louise Elliot, who is also president of the Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association, raised concerns earlier in the night regarding the lack of information provided to her – attempting to defer the budget meeting.
Councillor Louise Bloomfield told the chamber she believed Zucco’s cornflake comments would cause offence to council staff members.
“It’s offensive to the staff who are well qualified to do the work … to imply that a cornflakes box is sufficient,” she said.
She emphasised that elected members ‘had the opportunity to interact with accountants’ during a meeting held with the council’s risk and audit panel.
Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds acknowledged that while Zucco’s statement may not be entirely offensive, it lacked relevance.
Council voted in favour of the rate hikes and the budget as a whole.
