Wyndham councillors have criticised regulations which will force them to attend monthly meetings in the Werribee Civic Centre’s carpark, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Councils across the state, the state Opposition and the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) are lobbying the state government to relax legal requirements around council meetings, which do not allow them to be held remotely via methods such as video conferencing.
Local Government Victoria last month issued a bulletin which said that, under both the Local Government Act 1989 and the Local Government Bill 2019, councillors must be physically present in a room to vote on decisions.
Although the New South Wales government has announced it will change the law to allow councils to hold meetings electronically, Victoria’s government has not followed suit.
When Wyndham council called a special meeting on March 23, in relation to COVID-19, it was held in the civic centre’s carpark, in order for the councillors to sit further apart than usual, so they could practice social distancing.
Several Wyndham councillors have taken to social media to condemn the fact that this might have to continue into the future.
Mayor Cr Josh Gilligan wrote: “Councillors don’t want to be forced to work out of a car park to vote on matters of importance to over 280,000 residents.
“The premier must call back Parliament and support local councils to do their job as efficiently as possible.”
Cr Peter Maynard described the situation as “absolute stupidity”.
“We need to adjust to allow continuity of council decisions and services without councillors having to physically be in the room to hold a meeting,” he posted.
“Having a meeting and maintaining social distance measures is extremely difficult.”
Cr Mia Shaw said: “This is disappointing considering the work local councils are doing to support the state government and our communities during this crisis.”
The state Opposition’s spokesperson for local government, Tim Smith, said that councils “should be able to meet and make the necessary decisions for their communities remotely during the restrictions put in place due to COVID-19.”
The MAV is calling on the state government to amend the Local Government Act to enable councils to hold meetings online or to use declaration powers under the Emergency Management Act to allow for alternate solutions.
