An “ignorant” online post by a councillor comparing a common council project to Nazi Germany has sparked calls for her resignation. But she says she was “speaking her own mind”.
Residents have called for the resignation of a Salisbury councillor who compared smart cities to concentration camps and called the “storming” of a council meeting “justified”.
Salisbury resident Sandy Holloway, whose father liberated a concentration camp at the end of World War II, has now called for the councillor, Severina Burner, to “resign immediately”.
“How dare councillor Burner compare ‘smart cities’ to these abhorrent and inhumane death camps,” she said.
“How offensive, ignorant and irresponsible of someone elected to serve the public. I’m appalled.”
Ms Burner shared a post on social media saying smart cities were comparable to “a concentration camp with pretty interactive lights”.
When asked if she stood by the comparison, she did not comment.
In regards to a protest about smart cities, Ms Burner said, “it is my responsibility to liaise with my community and give them a voice”.
On social media, Ms Burner responded to Ms Holloway and said “this isn’t funny”.
“I speak my own mind and my own truth. We are heading in dangerous times with this new technology,” she said.
Read the article by Emily Jarvis and Brinley Duggan in the Herald Sun.