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Councillor scolded by Newcastle Mayor for shocking ‘unclothed’ Zoom appearance

Helena BurkeNCA NewsWire
Not Supplied
Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: Supplied

A Councillor has been slammed by a Lord Mayor after he appeared “unclothed” in a council Zoom meeting on Tuesday night.

Around halfway through the meeting of the development applications committee, Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes abruptly stopped speaking after she caught sight of a shirtless Allan Robinson on the video call.

“Councillor Robinson, can I just call you to order, you cannot be unclothed on a council meeting,” she said.

“It’s not OK. It brings council into disrepute and I just don’t want to deal with it.

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“Please don’t do it.”

Councillor Allan Robinson 'unclothed' in the Zoom call
Camera IconThe Newcastle Mayor stopped speaking abruptly after she spotted the shirtless Mr Robinson on the Zoom call. Credit: Supplied

Mr Robinson responded to Mayor Nelmes’ concerns, but his reply was inaudible.

The Councillor’s initial appearance as seen by the Lord Mayor and other Councillors was not visible to the public, but he did appear shirtless on the public broadcast as he replied to Mayor Nelmes’ request.

After Mr Robinson put on a shirt, Mayor Nelmes continued to the next agenda item and the meeting moved on.

Newcastle council referred NCA NewsWire to the Office of Local Governments’ meetings rules and standards.

“Councillors will be required to be appropriately dressed when attending meetings by audio-visual link,” the rules read.

Newcastle Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said being ‘unclothed’ in a meeting brought Newcastle council into ‘disrepute’.
Camera IconNewcastle Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said being ‘unclothed’ in a meeting brought Newcastle council into ‘disrepute’. Credit: Supplied

This is not the first time Mr Robinson has stirred controversy within Newcastle’s local government.

The former jockey, who became an independent Councillor in 2012, was recently dropped by his party after a scathing report found he had made a series of abusive comments about his colleagues.

Mr Robinson was accused of “relentless sexism and homophobic bullying” after making remarks in meetings and via emails about the sexuality and appearance of Mayor Nelmes and other Councillors.

In one email referred to in the report, Mr Robinson poked fun at his female colleagues for their weight.

Jockey Allan Robinson resting at his home in Newcastle after falling from his horse during a race at Cessnock 06/07/2010.
Camera IconMr Robinson was accused of “relentless sexism and homophobic bullying” after making remarks about the weight and sexuality of his colleagues. Credit: News Limited

“I’ve spoken to Grahame about this something needs to be done. If it was in fleet street where fatsos parents live it would have already happened,” Mr Robinson said in one email.

“She’s a big chunky woman, she has got legs like Blocker Roach, she is a big unit,” he wrote in another.

The local Councillor was also caught openly referring to his homosexual colleagues as “poof(s)” and “custard(s).”

The Newcastle independent party announced in July that Mr Robinson would not be included on their ticket at the next election.

Mr Robinson said he intended to run as a “rogue independent” in light of this.

Councillor Robinson was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Councillor scolded by Newcastle Mayor for shocking ‘unclothed’ Zoom appearance

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