Published on Friday, 1 May 2020 at 12:07:28 PM
Council has now held two Ordinary Council Meetings with all elected members and senior staff attending via an electronic meeting platform in response to the COVID-19 public gathering restrictions. The eMeeting is a platform for Council to meet on, rather than a live-streaming platform.
The State Government has fast-tracked new legislation to allow Council meetings to be held electronically due to a public health or state of emergency. The new regulations were passed on 25 March 2020 and can be found here. These amendments provide a framework to ensure good governance even in these uncertain times.
A summary of the Local Government (Administration) Amendment Regulations 2020 is provided below;
Three new regulations have been inserted:
- Regulation 14C describes the circumstances in which elected members are able to attend a meeting via electronic means which is restricted to;
- A public health emergency or state of emergency in the whole or part of the district;
- Elected members are unable, or it is considered inappropriate to attend in person;
- Elected members must be authorised to attend the meeting by electronic means by the Shire President or a resolution of Council.
- Regulation 14D refers to the holding of a meeting by electronic means and what electronic means will be used. This must be determined by either the Shire President or Council resolution in consultation with the CEO.
- Regulation 14E relates to modifications to the Local Government Act 1996 (the Act) if a meeting is held by electronic means and deals with:
- Public notice of the meeting;
- Open to the public provisions;
- Public question time;
- Making papers and documents available for inspection.
The Shire of York’s March Ordinary Council Meeting was held in accordance with the new legislation and all future meetings will be held via electronic means until further notice. The unconfirmed minutes from meetings will be made available via the Shire’s website as soon as possible but always within 10 business days of the meeting in accordance with the Act and Regulations.
Members of the public can submit public questions at any time up until 4.30pm on the day of the scheduled e-meeting.
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