Brisbane City Council tells Cr Kara Cook virtual meetings not possible
Brisbane City Council has been accused of making the life of a heavily pregnant councillor “more complicated than it needs to be” after saying she could not attend meetings virtually. Council says it is now working to make it possible.
QLD News
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Brisbane City Council will not to allow a heavily pregnant councillor to attend meetings online, despite spending more than $80,000 on live-streaming technology and conducting virtual meetings multiple times this year.
Council spent $79,710 earlier this year on a fleet of 30 new laptops allowing council and committees to meet via Zoom.
It comes on top of a $2,700 ongoing weekly cost for associated IT – which council revealed in May.
However, heavily pregnant Brisbane councillor Kara Cook was told she will not be allowed to appear in meetings virtually after she gives birth, with council saying it does not have the capability for “hybrid meeting” technology.
Council says it is now working to make virtual meetings possible.
“The CEO has advised Cr Cook that Council is currently investigating what can be done to make hybrid meetings possible and this is something council is looking to resolve quickly.
“At no stage has council ruled out hybrid meetings,” a council spokesman said.
Brisbane City Council will do whatever it can to help both the Councillor for Morningside Ward and the Councillor for Coorparoo Ward return to work following the birth of their newborns.”
Cr Cook said it meant she now faced the choice of taking her newborn baby to council committee meetings after she gives birth or temporarily resigning from her position on committees.
“In 2020, parents should not be locked out of political processes due to pregnancy or raising children,” she said.
“What message does this send to other young women who are considering a career in politics?”
Cr Cook criticised council’s lack of “foresight” saying that virtual participation should be the “norm” after the events of 2020.
“Basically they’ve spent tens-of-thousands of dollars upgrading technology without ever having the foresight to think that we might need a hybrid model,” she said.
“Council has proven it has the ability to facilitate virtual meetings during COVID, why this cannot be applied for other purposes … is indefensible.”
“What if someone’s having a COVID test, or what if someone has a physical impairment that doesn’t allow them to attend in person, why should we be locking those people out of serving in public office?”
Council conducted at least four weeks of meetings virtually between April and May and again in August and September.
A council spokesman said councillors were not considered employees and were “with the exception of voter perception” permitted to take leave as required.
“Council has assured both the Morningside and Coorparoo ward councillors (Kara Cook and Fiona Cunningham, who is also pregnant) that assistance will be provided to help them return to their roles, as per reasonable community expectations,” the spokesman said.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner previously said livestreaming laptops would be “temporarily used by councillors” and would later be used elsewhere in the organisation.
Services Union secretary Neil Henderson accused Brisbane City Council of making Cr Cook’s life “more complicated than it needs to be”.
Mr Henderson said there was no reason why Cr Cook couldn’t be provided flexibility in her work arrangements during the later stage of her pregnancy and after the birth of her child.
“There seems like there are two rules, one of which is motivated more from the point of view of making Cr Cook’s life more complicated than it needs to be,” Mr Henderson said.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had shown many organisations that employees could work remotely “without compromising either their effectiveness or integrity of the process.”
“It’s time for the Council to start solving problems rather than creating them I think.”