Three Hobart councillors are calling on deputy lord mayor Zelinda Sherlock to resign, just weeks before she is due to become acting lord mayor.
Two others have raised serious concerns about her conduct over the removal of food and drinks from Town Hall.
The calls follow the release of CCTV footage and internal emails showing Sherlock taking items from the members’ lounge on several occasions.
It is the second time the matter has surfaced this year. In January, four councillors moved for an independent investigation, but the motion failed.
The footage and emails, obtained under right to information laws by councillor Louise Elliot, have now reignited the issue.
Sherlock is set to take over as acting lord mayor from August until October’s council election, after Anna Reynolds announced she would leave the role.
The documents show Sherlock and another person entering the members’ lounge in January 2024, when the council was not sitting.
The pair arrived with empty bags and left with full ones. Alcohol, soft drink and snacks were among the items that went missing.
A handover memo, also released under right to information laws, said Sherlock told a former acting chief executive she had been taking refreshments for years.
She believed they were a fringe benefit of her role.
Elliot said the case against Sherlock was damning and that it “all compounds”.
“The premeditation of bringing empty bags with you, the late and early weekend trips to avoid being seen, the volume of products that went missing, the disappearance of alcohol, her admission that she was doing it for years and the implausible claim that someone with legal and linguistics training misunderstood a policy that has never been misunderstood before,” Elliot said.
“Zelinda and her accomplice arrived and went straight to fill their bags and quickly left. They knew what they wanted, were confident and had obviously done it many times before.”
“The evidence is clear and she’s admitted it. She must resign.”
Councillor John Kelly said local government had to uphold the highest standards.
“When trust is compromised or broken there is no return,” he said.
Kelly said Sherlock was “clearly not a fit and proper person” for the role and should be “immediately disendorsed” by the Greens over integrity and transparency concerns.
Kelly said her staying on would be “a source of ongoing embarrassment and distraction” ahead of the October election.
“She has no choice but to resign,” he said.
Councillor Will Coats said Sherlock’s leadership was “no longer tenable”.
Alderman Marti Zucco said no policy wording was needed to know the conduct was wrong.
“In any other workplace this would be instant dismissal,” he said.
“This matter was kept away from public scrutiny for two years. That’s a coverup.”
Zucco has written to the director of local government calling for a board of inquiry.
Alderman Louise Bloomfield said the reported scale of goods removed was “deeply troubling”, especially with ratepayers under financial pressure.
“Public office requires judgement, restraint and respect for the people who pay the bills,” Bloomfield said.
Sherlock has rejected the criticism. She previously referred herself to the Integrity Commission, which dismissed the case, finding it did not amount to misconduct.
“Allowances cannot be stolen, as they are part of an elected member’s allowance,” Sherlock said on social media on Sunday.
She also questioned why footage of only her was kept for more than two years “when the matter was resolved in 2024”.
Two weeks ago, she wrote on social media that she was “grateful for everyone’s support and for seeing a wannabe-snack-scandal for what it is”.
Sherlock told the ABC she remained “deeply dedicated” to her role.
“I will continue to focus my energy on serving the ratepayers of Hobart, whose trust and well-being will always be my motivation,” she said.
The city’s outgoing lord mayor has also come to Sherlock’s defence.
Reynolds told Triple M on Tuesday the matter had already been reviewed and she believed it was being “whipped up for political purposes”.
“I think it’s a bit of a beat up,” she said.
