Whittlesea residents are invited to have their say on council’s updated Draft Governance Rules, which outline the way council meetings are conducted, decisions are made and communicated and elections of mayor and deputy mayor will be managed when the city returns to elected officials.
Among the proposed changes to the rules, which were last updated in 2021, are provisions for virtual and hybrid meetings, clearer definitions of meeting roles, embedding the Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and the introduction of a good governance diversity statement to open council meetings to replace the Lord’s Prayer.
Council’s hair administrator Lydia Wilson said that new provisions to the Local Government Act 2020 required council Governance Rules to be updated to include procedures relating to virtual meetings, and this gave Council an opportunity to also look at other changes to further improve the rules.
“In keeping with our community-focused approach to genuine engagement these rules help demystify the council meeting process including opportunities for residents to participate in Council Meetings. We want to ensure our Meetings are accessible, inclusive and reflective of our diverse community,” Ms Wilson said.
“And we have simplified the way they are presented making sure they are user-friendly, written in plain English and easy to navigate.
“One of the proposed changes relates to how we open our Council Meetings. In addition to the Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners we are proposing a good governance diversity statement that aligns to Council vision of A Place for All, to replace the prayer that is currently said at the beginning of council meetings.”
To have your say on the revised draft of the Governance Rules, visit engage.whittlesea.vic.gov.au until August 21.
