Hobsons Bay City Council implements public attendance restrictions for meetings

A council in Melbourne’s west has implemented new restrictions for residents attending meetings with some concerned “paranoia” is creeping in.

A council in Melbourne’s west has taken the extraordinary step of forcing residents to register their attendance ahead of meetings, with ratepayers raising concerned about a paranoid culture taking hold.

Hobsons Bay City Council has adopted a new policy whereby residents must register a week prior to a council meeting and provide their full name, email and suburb before awaiting a confirmation email the day before.

Attendees will also need to provide ID upon arrival and registration is not transferable “under any circumstances”.

It follows a number of incidents at local government meetings, including when protesters clashed in the City of Monash in response to a drag story time event.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night at the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre. Picture: Supplied

Hobsons Bay resident Dr Phillip Paull told the Herald Sun some residents were concerned about “worrying developments” at the council and said recent decisions were guided by “paranoia”.

“It complicates things when you add barriers to attending, I know a few residents who turned up last month and got locked out — they were amazed,” Dr Paull said.

“There seems to be an undercurrent of fear and a culture where everything is decided before the meetings, so there is no real debate.”

Mr Paull also said it was “problematic” that residents who were granted access to the previous meeting were sent a group email by the council which revealed their email to all other recipients.

It follows an emergency briefing last month where council mayors discussed the rising levels of “unpredictable and disruptive behaviour” at meetings.

Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) president David Clark said the ongoing poor behaviour at recent council meetings was threatening, unpredictable and had no place in communities.

“Councils are right to take a zero tolerance approach, as the people most at risk are often other community members who are in the gallery with the disruptive people,” Mr Clark said.

“Councils are being caught up in what is a global trend of community disruption and we need to act together and consistently in response to these issues.”

He said councils were working closely with Victoria Police to ensure appropriate security measures were implemented.

Hobsons Bay councillor Daria Kellander said restricting public attendance to involvement should be as limited as possible.

“In my opinion, it is important for democracy and transparency that all residents are allowed to attend public council meetings,” Ms Kellander said.

A Council spokesman said registration has been implemented since the May meeting.

“We regularly review and refine our security processes and procedures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our Councillors, employees and community,” the spokesman said.

“If people register after the capacity is reached, they go onto a waiting list. They also have the option to view the Council meeting online,” he said.

The capacity for public attendance is 40 people.