The meeting became heated when discussion was due to begin on the granting of  the event licence.

The two tender applicants were The South Coast Hunters Club, which runs HuntFest, and the Animal Justice Party (AJP), which proposed an alternative event.

After listening to eight public forum speakers, more than 30 people stayed put when councillors tried to moved into a confidential session to debate who should have the licence for the site on that weekend from 2018.

Mayor Lindsay Brown left the meeting before the public forum after declaring a conflict of interest. Cr Rob Pollock took over as chair of the meeting.

About 20 people, including Fairfax Media journalist Emily Barton, addressed council on why they objected to the matter being debated in a closed session. Ms Barton did not hold a position on the preferred tender but supported the issue being debated publicly.

Councillor Gabi Harding moved the matter be discussed in a public forum. Cr Milton Leslight supported the motion, however chair Cr Pollock ruled the motion out of order because of legal advice.

Members of the public in the gallery shouted from their seats in opposition to Cr Pollock’s ruling. Cr Harding then moved a motion of dissent. 

“The chair has ruled that my motion to have this dealt with an open forum is unlawful, my motion of dissent is that I don’t agree with the position of the chair,” she said.

Councillors Milton Leslight and Danielle Brice supported the motion. It was lost. 

Cr Harding then put a motion forward to defer the decision until after the next council election. Cr Liz Innes did not support the deferral.  

“We have been going through this issue of HuntFest the whole time I have been a councillor,” Cr Innes said.

“I am confident I have enough information on whether I think it should move forward or not.”

Cr Brice questioned why a decision on the licence was being made two years before it was due to commence.

“I can’t be part of a decision that locks in a five-year licence and locks out a future council on making a decision on this process,” she said.

Cr Harding said the “approval of a licence seven years into the future is questionable, especially so close to a council election”.

Council’s director of infrastructure Warren Sharpe said once a tender process was started, council had to complete the process in a suitable time frame. 

Crs Harding and Brice supported the deferral motion. Councillors Innes, Leslight, Schwarz, Burnside and Pollock voted against it. 

Members of the public refused to leave the gallery and the council meeting was adjourned, to reconvene in the committee room. 

After about 20 minutes, councillors returned to the chambers and advised the South Coast Hunters Club was the successful applicant. 

ERA Councillors Liz Innes and Milton Leslight, their estranged former party members Neil Burnside and Peter Schwarz and independent Rob Pollock voted in favour of the hunters club, which holds the licence for the next two years.

The decision was opposed by independent Danielle Brice and Green Gabi Harding.

HuntFest spokesman Dan Fielding welcomed the decision but hoped the AJP went ahead with its event on a different weekend. 

“It is a positive move for us, but on the same token, we hope that the other group still holds an event because anything that brings tourism to the Eurobodalla has to be a good thing,” he said. 

“Lets just hope this wasn’t a stunt and that this proposal by the Animal Justice Party does go ahead.”

The AJP said it was astonished council had opted for HuntFest over their “innovative proposal promoting the region’s growing sustainable and creative businesses”. President Steve Garlick said the group’s proposal would have brought an economic boost to the shire.

“It would have created up to 47 jobs and had a net regional benefit of around $4 million,” Mr Garlick said.