00:02Heading for a new start, Kingbra Mayor Paula Reet is resigning from the council,
00:07closing the door on 30 years in politics.
00:10It is really an honour. It's something I've really enjoyed.
00:13Miss Reet was elected as a councillor in 2011.
00:17In 2021, she became Kingbra's first female mayor.
00:21Earlier, she spent 13 years as a Labor member in Tasmania's state parliament,
00:27including stints as a minister.
00:28I'm proud of all that work and it's been enjoyable,
00:32but I'm also excited that I now have an opportunity to put my advocacy skills to perhaps a new start.
00:42Miss Reet's resignation won't trigger a by-election, with the deputy mayor elevated to the top job.
00:48She's set to take over as chief executive of the Tasmanian Council of Social Service.
00:53To now be able to advocate, particularly to the state government,
00:58for a fairer deal for the sector is something that I believe is very important.
01:04Miss Reet says her decision to resign was influenced by toxic behaviour and messages
01:09increasingly being directed at councillors.
01:11To criticise not just their decisions, but what they look like, their families and so on.
01:20And nobody in any job should be subjected to that.
01:23A recent national study by the Better Politics Foundation found 70% of politicians across all
01:29levels of government felt their job affected their mental health.
01:33Tasmania's local government association last year launched a campaign calling on councillors
01:38and the community to commit to respectful debate.
01:41We are there to serve our community, not to get a serve.
01:46And it's really inappropriate and unnecessary.
01:49We can all have different points of view, but we should be respectful.
01:54Hoping fewer people will feel the need to walk away from politics.
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