Elsie Adamo
GRANT District Council is considering having council meetings livestreamed to the public over the internet.
At the council meeting on Monday, a question on notice from Councillor Gavin Clarke was answered on the pros and cons of livestreaming council meetings. Cr Clarke was an apology for the meeting.
In his response, corporate services director Gary Button responded by outlining some general benefits and drawbacks.
He noted that livestreaming could allow for a more transparent council, but would incur significant costs to get the system up and running.
Mr Button said that no other councils in the region currently livestream meetings, and others in the state that do only receive limited views.
A motion for the council to investigate live streaming options was deferred to the next meeting, so Cr Clarke could attend.
Cr Clarke said after reviewing the response from Mr Button, some of the concerns were valid but he was still broadly in support of livestreaming, if it could be done at a lower cost.
“If I miss a meeting, it is very hard to find out what goes on in the meeting unless you speak to someone that was at the meeting and thy give you their personal opinion,” Cr Clarke said.
Meetings are recorded by Council staff to help with the compilation of the minutes, but the recording is not made available to anyone else, including to councillors.
He recommended the council follow the Australian Government’s lead when it comes to public meetings.
“What I appreciate about the Australian Government is that I can go online, and all the meetings are recorded,” he said.
“So let us do that.
“It is a public record that sits there, and it holds us transparent and accountable.”
Cr Clarke said he believed the council members may better behave if they knew they were being recorded.
“I think we would have less drama than we have had over the past however many years if everything was transparent and accountable,” he said.
“If we all know we are being recorded, we would behave – if there is a red-light camera, you make sure you do not run that red light.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the council held one meeting online. Cr Clarke said continuing in a similar system would allow for better community involvement.
“We did one on Zoom, and they [the public] loved that they could be there,” Cr Clarke said.
“If your kids have netball on a Monday night, you are not in democracy, you cannot take part, you cannot even find out what is going on.”
Mount Gambier City Council previously undertook a survey to assess interest in a livestreaming process in 2019.
The equipment they identified would be needed cost around $30,000. The survey received 58 responses, 33 in favour of livestreaming.
Due to the limited community interest and the costs, Mount Gambier Council decided to not progress with livestreaming at that stage.
