Outgoing Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds has spoken publicly about an anti-discrimination complaint she brought over reader comments on Pulse Tasmania’s social media pages.
Reynolds has raised the case as she prepares to host a public forum next month on online abuse directed at women leaders.
The complaint was resolved this year, shortly after Pulse became the first Australian publisher to adopt an AI moderation system that now screens around 20,000 reader comments each week.
Reynolds lodged the complaint with Tasmania’s Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in November 2024 at her own expense.
She said comments targeting her appearance, gender and personal characteristics were left online under stories about the cable car, CCTV cameras, council meetings and bike lanes.
The then acting anti-discrimination commissioner accepted the complaint for investigation, finding it disclosed possible breaches of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998.
Conciliation was unsuccessful and the matter went to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) in June 2025. It was settled before a hearing and the tribunal made no finding.
Pulse Media Group gave Reynolds a written apology in April.
“I acknowledge that the comments in question caused you and your family hurt and distress,” general manager Josh Agnew wrote.
“I also understand that the nature of some of those comments affected your sense of personal safety and security and I am deeply sorry that you were left feeling that way.”
“In those circumstances, I want to apologise to you for the impact those comments have had on you.”
Agnew said many of the comments made by members of the public were “inappropriate and deeply regrettable”.
He said Pulse would continue facilitating discussion on matters of public interest while maintaining clear expectations for respectful participation.
“It has never been our intention for any person to feel harmed, degraded or unsafe as a result of public debate on our platforms,” he wrote.
University of Tasmania senior lecturer Louise Richardson-Self reviewed 285 comments in a report prepared for Reynolds ahead of the proceedings, finding 169 referred to her gender in a disparaging way.
It concluded they amounted to “an onslaught of abuse”.
Richardson-Self will speak alongside Reynolds at next month’s forum.
Writing in her newsletter on Sunday, Reynolds said her complaint was not an attempt to shut down scrutiny.
“Democracy depends on robust discussion and scrutiny of elected representatives,” she said.
“The issue is whether women in public life should be expected to tolerate comments that demean them because of their gender, appearance or personal characteristics.”
“I chose to pursue this matter not only because of its impact on me and my family, but because many women told me they felt discouraged from speaking out or seeking public office after seeing the nature of the abuse.”
Pulse signed with New Zealand-based platform Sence in March, becoming the first Australian publisher to adopt the new technology.
The system screens comments around the clock for spam, threats and hate speech before automatically hiding or deleting them or flagging them for staff review.
Sence already works with the NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB and Radio New Zealand and has since expanded into Australia, signing publishers including Daily Mail Australia and 7NEWS in the months after it was first adopted by Pulse.
Reynolds told ABC Radio on Monday the new system used by Pulse was “very sophisticated”.
“It’s quite shocking, the material that their AI is pulling out and actually deleting now and this is abusive comments based on race, on gender, on a whole range of [things like] age and disability,” she said.
“I think it’s great that they have taken that step.”
The ‘Speaking out about online abuse against women leaders’ forum will run from 12pm to 2pm on September 11 at Hobart Town Hall.
