Whittlesea Council to start live streaming meetings from February 4, 2020
Whittlesea Council will live stream meetings for the first time this year. It comes after three years of objections and delays, including fears of defamation and concerns about cost.
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Whittlesea Council’s first meeting of the new decade will be live streamed.
After several false starts since mid-2017, including objections due to of defamation fears and concerns about the cost, the first meeting of 2020 on February 4 will be streamed on the council’s YouTube channel from 6.30pm.
Whittlesea Mayor Emilia Sterjova – who first proposed the idea – said she was thrilled to be chairing the council’s first meeting to be broadcast live on the internet.
“I’m delighted that finally our community will be able to choose to watch council meetings online if they are unable to attend,” she said.
“Live streaming will allow better engagement with residents who find it difficult to attend meetings, such as those who live far away or those with a disability which prevents them attending.”
Cr Sterjova said she also believed live streaming would help better engage young people with the council.
Live streamed meetings have become common in federal, state and local governments across Australia, including in nearby Moreland Council since 2014.
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It also brings Whittlesea into line with a Victorian Ombudsman recommendation on local government transparency, which said live streaming of meetings was one measure that helped a council be transparent with its community.
Cameras won't film members of the public asking a question or sitting in the public gallery and only the audio of public questions will be included in the webcast.
A video of each meeting will remain on the council’s website for at least a year.
Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 6.30pm.