Local news

Monday, 27 July 2026, 6:55 am

A Hobart council member, Zelinda Sherlock, is in trouble for taking snacks from the council building.

In short:

Zelinda Sherlock took snacks and drinks from the council lounge. She said sorry, but some council members are still upset.

The council will talk about this problem in a private meeting.

What's next?

The council will discuss this problem tonight.

The Hobart council has many problems, but this snack issue is making things worse.

Zelinda Sherlock took food and drinks from the council lounge. She said sorry for what she did.

Another council member, Louise Elliot, showed pictures of Zelinda taking snacks from the council building.

This problem is causing a lot of trouble, with people arguing on social media and calling for Zelinda to quit.

The person in charge of local government, Luke Gregory, told the council members to behave and do what's best for the community.

Luke Gregory said if the council members don't behave, he might have to take action.

Louise Elliot wants an investigation into Zelinda taking snacks.

The council will talk about Louise Elliot's motion in a private meeting.

The motion wants Luke Gregory's office to look into what happened and how the council handled it.

Luke Gregory said the motion is not needed because his office already knows about the problem.

The motion also wants the council to ask the police to look into Zelinda's actions.

Zelinda said Louise Elliot tried to blackmail her, and the police are looking into it.

What happened?

Some council members wanted an investigation into Zelinda taking snacks from the council lounge.

The problem started again when Louise Elliot got some documents and pictures that showed Zelinda taking snacks.

The pictures showed Zelinda and someone else taking snacks from the council building.

The documents said that many snacks and drinks were missing from the council lounge.

Zelinda said she took the snacks for her home office, but she stopped when the staff told her it was not allowed.

Zelinda reported herself to the Integrity Commission, but they did not think it was a big problem.

A divided council

The Hobart council is divided into two groups with different ideas.

One group, with Zelinda and the current Lord Mayor, is more progressive.

The other group, with Louise Elliot, is more conservative.

The current Lord Mayor is leaving, and Zelinda will become the acting mayor.

A former mayor said that in the past, the council members would solve their problems quietly.

Now, the council members are making their problems public.

The Local Government Minister said the snack problem is very disappointing.

He wants the council members to respect each other and focus on helping the community.

The minister said the problem is worse because there is an election coming up.

Zelinda will become the acting lord mayor soon, before the local government elections.

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