PLAYFORD Council will continue live streaming its meetings after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, after a majority of elected members back-flipped on the issue.
At council’s ordinary meeting a fortnight ago, a majority of elected members voted 10-4 in favour of maintaining live streaming once meetings return to the chamber, as well as retaining said recordings online for later viewing.
The motion was moved by councillor David Kerrison, who said having the meetings publicly available to watch from home would “increase transparency”.
“What I highlighted was the 2017 rating review policy where rates were going to jump by up to 100 per cent or greater, as a resident, I could see the minutes of the meeting but I couldn’t see the debate,” he said.
“This process will allow the residents to go back and gain an understanding of what’s happened. It will increase transparency.”
The successful vote saw eight elected members backflip from an April 2019 vote on the issue, when the chamber rejected recorded meetings.
A report presented to council at the time advised against endorsing video recording and archiving of public meetings due to the cost, estimate to be around $35,000 to set up.
Cr Kerrison foresaw the estimated cost falling though, due to the council staffs’ work to set up live streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This time round, with the COVID-19 situation, it went from being an expensive exercise to deliver… to something we had already pieced together with an Ipad and Zoom without a huge expense,” he said.
“If it’s something within the order of $10,000 to $15,000 then I think it’s a worthy investment.”
A lack of parliamentary privilege for councillors during meetings was also a concern for elected members last year.
Only councillors Shirley Halls, Misty Norris, Gay Smallwood-Smith and Stephen Coppins voted against the motion.
Cr Smallwood-Smith told The Bunyip she voted against the motion because she did not want to alter council’s 2020/21 draft budget.
“I was not happy because we hadn’t budgeted for it and we had sort of said we wouldn’t add things to the budget,” she said.
“Blow me down, the very first meeting after councillor Kerrison puts up a motion to continue the live streaming.
“I wasn’t happy in that respect because it wasn’t a budgeted item and now we need to find the money to do it.”
Cr Smallwood-Smith added she did not believe enough people would tune in to the broadcast to justify the expenditure.
“The number of people who were watching that (the last council meeting) was about 32, and I know for a fact most of those were staff,” she said.
“It’s only a small handful of the general public that are actually watching it.”
