A Hobsons Bay councillor currently travelling in China claims he was prevented from joining last week’s council meeting remotely due to security concerns.
Cr Michael Disbury had planned to join the September 23 meeting via video link from China where he is on a business trip and also visiting his wife’s family.
The Williamstown ward representative said he’d informed his council colleagues about the trip and his intention to join remotely well in advance, and had also consulted council’s IT experts on how to connect securely and packed extra computer equipment in his luggage.
But just hours before the meeting was due to begin last Tuesday, Cr Disbury said he was told this was no longer possible.
“I was advised by council’s governance team not to participate in any meeting or briefing while in China due to perceived IT security risks,” Cr Disbury said in a statement posted on his Facebook page last week apologising for his absence.
Hobsons Bay council did not respond to questions about what IT security risks Cr Disbury could have be exposed to had he joined the meeting from China.
Councillors are permitted to join meetings remotely Under the Local Government Act and Cr Disbury noted that some of his colleagues had joined meetings while on holiday in Bali and and that Victoria premier Jacinta Allan had recently led a delegation to China.
He expressed frustration at not being able to join the meeting where matters relating to the powers delegated to the council chief executive were debated.
“This is such a shame as I would have voted against the CEO having discretionary spending power of $1M for reasons of transparency and accountability and to increase public visibility of council spending,” Cr Disbury said, referring to the Review of Instruments of Delegation which allows the chief executive to enter into contracts and make expenditures of up to $1 million.
The review passed, though mayor Daria Kellander voted against for the same reason expressed by Cr Disbury.
Cr Lisa Bentley was also an apology from last week’s meeting as she was flying back from a holiday in Vietnam.
