Hobart councillor Louise Elliot’s suspension for “harassing” fellow councillor Ryan Posselt can now be revealed in full, as she continues to fight the decision.
A Code of Conduct panel suspended Elliot for one month in June 2025 and ordered her to apologise to Posselt in writing.
Elliot appealed and she said the suspension is not active.
Until last month, the panel’s report had to be kept confidential until it was tabled at a council meeting.
Changes to the Local Government Act that took effect in September removed that requirement.
Elliot is running for deputy lord mayor and Posselt is running for lord mayor, with voting closing on October 27.
Posselt complained in December 2024 about Elliot’s conduct over the previous few months. The panel upheld four of his five allegations.
It found that at a council workshop in September 2024, Elliot deliberately turned printouts of Posselt’s private emails towards him while sitting beside him.
Elliot said the emails were obtained through Right to Information.
In November 2024, she received a letter from the Acting Director of Local Government, responding to her complaint, saying Posselt had been warned over a technical breach of the Local Government Act.
The panel found she held onto the letter for four days, then sent it to all councillors just before a council meeting. It said the timing was designed to embarrass him.
Elliot said the letter was not confidential and was relevant because confidentiality was on the agenda that night.
“The irony is that most of Cr Posselt’s complaint actually relates to his own behaviour,” she said.
The panel also found she failed to remove offensive comments about Posselt from her Facebook page.
One allegation, about an email criticising seven councillors’ vote, was dismissed.
Elliot told the panel the complaint was trivial and that she was pushing to reform the Code of Conduct system.
The panel said continuing to breach the code to highlight its flaws was “a political strategy” but not a defence.
“This is the third complaint Cr Posselt has lodged against me, with all three relating to Cr Posselt’s feelings being hurt,” Elliot said.
Posselt defended the complaint.
“Holding people accountable for their behaviour isn’t a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength,” he told Pulse.
Elliot has since been suspended for two months over a separate complaint from Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds.
She said the code needed to focus on issues such as conflicts of interest, use of resources and confidentiality.
“The Code of Conduct is rotten to the core and needs a complete rebuild,” she said.
“Panels are making illogical decisions, the bar is set ridiculously low and these complaints are costing huge money.”
Under the Local Government Act, councillors can be removed from office after three suspensions at the discretion of the minister.
