Maribyrnong council meetings could be recorded and shared online as part of a drive for greater transparency.
Cr Mia McGregor used last week’s council meeting to move that the council prepare a policy to govern the recording of council meetings and arrange for the audio recording of meetings to be shared via the council’s website.
“This is about transparency and community engagement,” she said. “This is something I have been working on in the background for the past 18 months.
“Whilst the minutes of the council meeting provide an accurate recollection of the resolution of the meetings, it doesn’t usually reflect the level of detailed discussion and debate.”
Cr Gina Huynh said the move would help bring local government in line with its state and federal counterparts.
“It’s important to cater to everybody’s needs, especially those who can’t come for one reason or another,” she said.
Cr Martin Zakharov said the move was overdue and that the council should even consider recording video of meetings.
Cr Catherine Cumming said she supported the move.
“This is becoming affordable, this is becoming quite easy to do,” she said.
She called for greater protections of councillors in line with the parliamentary privilege enjoyed in state and federal governments.
The motion was passed unanimously.
Benjamin Millar
