Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has voted to open briefing sessions to the public online, and to provide more information about briefing topics in advance of Council decisions.
The decision follows a review of the council’s Public Transparency Policy, which was referred to a citizen’s panel and subject to community consultation.
The proposal to amend a published officer recommendation was put forward at the meeting by Cr David Gill, and ultimately received majority councillor support after an hour of questions and debate.
(Watch from the 2hr 13 minute mark)
Council CEO John Baker told the meeting that time would be required to develop meeting rules and terms of reference for the open briefing sessions, and it’s unclear if the change will take effect before elections in October.
While some other Victorian councils have explored open briefing sessions, Mornington Peninsula is believed to be the first in the state to enact such a change.
Some councils in other states have opened their briefing sessions to the public, notably in South Australia.
Kiama Council in NSW held a trial of open briefing sessions in 2022 and there is movement towards open council workshops in New Zealand following an Ombudsman recommendation last year.