Anna Reynolds is an Australian politician who has served as the
Lord Mayor of Hobart in
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
since November 2018. Reynolds ran in the
2022 Hobart City Council election
The 2022 Hobart City Council election was held in October 2022 to elect a lord mayor, deputy lord mayor and 12 councillors to the City of Hobart. The election was held as part of the statewide local elections in Tasmania, Australia.
Anna Reyn ...
as the leader of the
Your Hobart Independents ticket.
Early life
Reynolds is the daughter of historian
Henry Reynolds and former Queensland ALP senator
Margaret Reynolds
Margaret Reynolds (; born 19 July 1941) is a former Australian politician. She was a Senator for Queensland from 1983 to 1999, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She held ministerial office in the Hawke government as Minister for L ...
.
[
Reynolds graduated from ]Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
with a Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in 1987, majoring in Political Science, and completed a Master of Management from the University of Technology Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...
in 1996.
Career
Reynolds began her career establishing a community legal centre in Northern Queensland, before moving into a number of campaigning and advocacy roles. She served as President of the Cairns and far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) during the 1990s.
After four years with the Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.
One high-profi ...
, in 1998 Reynolds founded the Climate Action Network Australia - the Australian environment movement's first collective campaign on climate change.
In 2002, Reynolds moved on to her first of two roles with leading conservation organisation WWF. Between 2002 and 2005, Reynolds established and managed WWF Australia's first climate change program, then from 2005 to 2008, she held a role as Deputy Leader of WWF International's Global Climate Program.
In 2009, Reynolds moved to Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
to take up an advisory role in the office of Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...
, then leader of the Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
. She then became the CEO of the Multicultural Council of Tasmania in 2013.
Politics
Reynolds stood for the Greens in the seat of Denison at the 2013 federal election
The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on Saturday, 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal ...
, losing to the incumbent independent MP Andrew Wilkie
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Division of Clark, Clark (previously Division of Denison, Denison). Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Austr ...
.Hobart City Council
The City of Hobart is a local government area in Tasmania which covers the central metropolitan area of the state capital, Hobart. The city is governed by Hobart City Council and led by the Lord Mayor.
The local government area has a populat ...
Alderman, with her candidacy backed by the Tasmanian Greens
The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens.
Followi ...
. She was Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee during her term.
In November 2018, after standing as an Independent, Reynolds was elected Lord Mayor of Hobart, securing 63.35% of the vote and beating former Lord Mayor Damon Thomas into second place. The turnout in the 2018 election was the highest since the 1990s, with 61.94% of eligible electors in the City of Hobart turning out to vote. Reynolds' election to Lord Mayor was only the third time a woman had been voted into the position.
In 2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, Reynolds was re-elected to the position of Lord Mayor of Hobart, securing 52.41% of the vote and beating first-time candidate John Kelly, former owner of Hobart's State Cinema, into second place.
References
External links
Anna Reynolds
Hobart City Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Anna
Living people
Australian National University alumni
Mayors and lord mayors of Hobart
Year of birth missing (living people)
Women mayors of places in Tasmania
Tasmanian local councillors
University of Technology Sydney alumni