On the new Eurobodalla Shire Council of 2022 we will introduce measures to increase, rather than erode, residents and ratepayers access to participation in council proceedings.
We will be repeating Greens Councillor Pat McGinlay’s calls for the re-instatement of live streaming and recording of the Public Forum.
The technology is in place to live stream, record and archive Public Access sessions and other council meetings and briefings too. Other councils do it – so can we.
We’ll be guided by the community as to which meetings to expand these live-streaming methods to.
These will be a straightforward steps to fostering broader engagement from the community outside of the constraints of the council meeting agenda.
Eurobodalla residents expect, and Greens on council will deliver, greater openness and transparency in council decision-making processes.
We will work on rebuilding the trust of the community in our council, which has been eroded by a culture of secrecy. We can’t rebuild that trust without being open and transparent in our actions.
Together, we need to revisit what genuine community consultation with the community looks and feels like in this shire.
Residents tell us that they often feel the existing public engagement process is one of ‘consult and ignore’.
It’s also time to explore how we can encourage a greater diversity of representation on council – our council should reflect the diversity of our community. This means we’ll need greater representation of women, young people and First Nations people on council.