Pregnant councillor claims request to work from home denied
A Brisbane City councillor said she was told to catch a cab to work, after having a planned caesarean-section birth early next year, in response to her request to attend meetings online.
Deputy Labor Opposition Leader Kara Cook is due to have her third child in January and is not entitled to maternity leave in her position.
Cook said she asked to participate in meetings remotely but was told it was ānot possibleā ā despite the technology being used by the council during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
āThe answer yesterday was no,ā she told ABC Radio Brisbane.
āThey hadnāt foreseen that we might need to have hybrid meetings and they werenāt prepared to update the technology to allow that to happen,ā she said.
Cook said she just wanted to ādo her jobā and the council had no āreasonable explanationā to not upgrade the current system.
āThereās an unwillingness to move with the times,ā she said.
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āItās 2020, we want to encourage womenās participation in politics ā¦Weāve seen other levels of government adapt.ā
Cook said her only options were to take leave or to attend the meetings in person with her āunvaccinated childā, as babies are not vaccinated until six weeks old.
āAny woman whoās had a c-section would know you canāt drive. Councilās response to that was they would give me a cab voucher,ā she said.
āIt doesnāt make us specialā
An LNP councillor, Fiona Cunningham, is also expecting a baby in the new year, but said she ādidnāt shareā Cookās concerns and is opting to take leave after giving birth.
āIām also having a caesarean ā it doesnāt make us special, thousands of women do this every day,ā she said.
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āHybrid meetings would not work for me ā¦ Iām taking that time to spend with my baby,ā she said.
Cunningham said Cook was not being ālocked outā of any political process.
āShe can listen in, she also has other colleagues in the chamber who can represent her views and who can represent her constituents,ā she said.
āThis is not locking her out ā¦ and itās ridiculous to say that it is.ā
Council denies ruling out remote attendance
A council spokesman said in a statement āat no stage has Council ruled out hybrid meetingsā.
āWhile the existing technology is unable to facilitate hybrid meetings, the CEO has advised Cook that Council is currently investigating what can be done to make them possible in the future,ā the spokesman said.
āBrisbane City Council will do whatever it can to help both the Councillor for Morningside Ward and the Councillor for Coorparoo Ward return to work following the birth of their newborns.
āSimilar to other levels of government, councillors have the flexibility to take as much or as little leave as they choose.ā
ā ABC / Talissa Siganto
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