Council 'closes door' on public
A NOOSA-based bid to reinstate open standing council committee meetings has been strongly rebuffed with a majority of southern-based councillors saying they were happy to have only one ordinary meeting a month.
Caloundra Councillor Tim Dwyer said he found it contradictory why the Noosa Parks Association, which was fighting for de-amalgamation, wanted to impose a Noosa-style of local government governance on the rest of the Coast.
The NPA had written to Mayor Mark Jamieson seeking adoption of the previous Sunshine Coast Council meeting system to provide more open and accountable decision-making.
Noosa Councillor Russell Green at Thursday's council meeting formally moved to reject a system of one monthly meeting to be preceded by an agenda review meeting where councillors were able to question staff behind closed doors.
Cr Green's amendment was seconded by Noosa hinterland's Councillor Tony Wellington.
"Prior to the election I spoke with Cr Jamieson about my yearning for this type of structure," Cr Green said.
"This is how I believe this organisation can make its best decisions.
"This process I'm proposing provides a better opportunity than just an ordinary meeting to allow the community to embrace our decision-making process, to actually understand how this council arrives at its decisions."
Cr Green said the media would also be in a better position to explain council decisions if there were more open meetings.
And Cr Wellington, who is openly pro de-amalgamation for Noosa, said considerable transparency would be lost if council opted to keep its past three-month trial of monthly meetings only.
"I believe there are important deliberations now being held in agenda review meetings that I reckon should be held here in the public gaze," he said.
"I believe scrapping the standing committees is a very retrograde move in terms of transparency.
"I think it will reflect very poorly on this council and I urge you to reconsider your position."
But the mayor as well as Cr Dwyer, Cr Ted Hungerford, Cr Peter Cox, Cr Jenny McKay, Cr Steve Robinson and Cr Greg Rogerson all expressed their satisfaction with the monthly meetings.
Cr McKay said she took exception to the claim decisions were taking place behind closed doors.Cr Rogerson believed one committee meeting a month was not enough and council should consider two monthly meetings.
Mayor Jamieson said a majority of councillors believed that monthly meetings was the way to go.
"Whether that changes or council moves onto something else only time will tell," Cr Jamieson said. Cr Hungerford said having standing committees and the ordinary meeting served to duplicate the workload and was an imposition on staff. "I believe we're on the right track at the moment," he said.
