Northern Beaches residents will no longer be able to address council on any topic they choose nor address Council on agenda items during Council meetings under plans to be introduced in 2026.
Public address on agenda-specific tems will still occur, but it may move to a separate day one week before a Council meeting, according to Council’s new draft Code of Meeting on public display from this week.
Most of the changes have been forced upon councillors by the State Government via the Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig. The Minister has mandated that the general forum (where any issue on any topic can be raised) must be abolished.
The Minister has also mandated bans on flags, signs, and protest symbols at meetings. What is within Council control, however, is whether the public can still talk on agenda-specific matters and when that can occur – it can be anytime ahead of the official Council meeting. Whether that’s hour or a week before the meeting has been left in the hands of councillors across the State.
This week a majority of councillors voted to propose the public have their say at a separate day one week prior to the Council meeting, rather than try to keep it at its current time of 6pm or earlier in the afternoon before the scheduled Council meeting. With Council also looking to enforce an earlier finish time of 10.30pm each month, it may not be feasible to continue to host the public’s say at 6pm and still get through the ever-growing list of Council agenda items. An earlier start time such as 4pm would be in accessible to many.
A public address on any other night would not be mandatory for councillors to attend.
How do things currently work?
Council meetings for the Northern Beaches local government area are held at Dee Why Chambers once a month at 6pm, which usually includes an initial hour or two of short representations by the public. Usually this involved the public imploring for Council to vote a certain way on an issue being debated that night, with two speakers for and two public speakers against permitted to address the Council Chamber. It is also used to raise issues of concern for residents that are not being discussed that evening, from pot holes and e-bikes to nuclear arms. Lately, it’s also been heavily used by Libertarian candidates as a way to state their position on local matters.
This will no longer be allowed, unless it is addressing a specific matter being discussed at the upcoming Council meeting. And, if the proposed new structure is approved after the consultation period, it will be held a week prior in the New Year.
Council meetings and public addresses are, and will continue to be, live streamed.
Putting this approach on public exhibition was approved by all councillors last Tuesday night with the exception of Cr Krystin Glanville, Cr Sunny Singh, Cr Vincent De Luca and Cr Robert Giltinan.
Public response
Two members of the public, former councillor Michael Gencher and resident Douglas C, appealed against the decision ahead of the vote, while they had the right to do so.
“Let’s be absolutely clear this is not being forced upon you… by moving the forum to another night, you would be deliberately disconnecting our community’s voice from the moment of decision,” Gencher said.
“The forum held immediately before the council meeting ensures councillors hear residents’ views in real time… splitting the forum off a week earlier weakens that connection and risk councillors forgetting key arguments and reduces the immediacy and relevance of community input.”
Resident Douglas C declared that “people aren’t happy… The public forum is the one moment, the only moment, when ratepayers can look at their representatives in the eye and be heard. Take that away and you’re not streamlining meetings, you’re silencing the community.”
“Please let’s not make it harder for the people who pay for rates to be heard by the people who spend them.”
“Please let’s not make it harder for the people who pay for rates to be heard by the people who spend them.”
What councillors say
For Cr Nicholas Beaugeard, however, having a week to consider the public address before making a decision would allow him to follow up or investigate any information brought forward by members of the public.
“Overall, I think the code of meeting will give us a better outcome at the end of the day,” the councillor said, commending the motion to the chamber.
For those opposed, it’s a fundamental slight on democracy.
“I do note that Minister Hoenig did seek to amend the code for good, however, there are a lot of changes that are not in the public interest,” Cr De Luca added.
While Cr Miranda Korzy voted for it to go to public exhibition, she made it clear her preference was for there to be two meetings a month to cover the increasing volume of council papers and allow the public to address on the same night as official meetings.
“I ask, what price for democracy,” she said.
While most councillors said the new code “sucked”, the friction was mostly regarding the ban on private councillor briefings and a ban on dial-in options for remote attendance at meetings.
Mayor Sue Heins sent reassurance in a prepared statement that the Council was committed to ensuring the community continues to have a voice in local decision-making.
“We know how important it is for our community to be heard. While the new rules mean public forums can no longer be held during Council meetings, the draft Code proposal ensures residents can still share their views,” Mayor Heins said.
“This is in addition to the range of other ways the community can connect with Council such as by contacting councillors directly, engaging in public consultation opportunities and responding to projects through the public exhibition process that is reported to Council meetings.
“In the meantime, I encourage our community to review the draft Code and provide feedback.”
Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig said the new Model Code of Meeting Practice provision requires council meetings to be reserved solely for decision making by the council and for community participation to be held separately.
“These changes should ensure that, in a council chamber or committee meeting, mechanisms are in place to prevent the derailing of meetings and overshadowing the important work of local government,” he said in a statement.
“Council and committee meetings must be effective, transparent and genuine, and strive for outcomes to benefit the community.
“Under the new code, mayors should be given the power to take immediate action against disorderly councillors. This should lessen the need for councils to resort to the broken code of conduct process and instead address misbehaviour immediately in the council chamber.
“I know not everyone will agree with these changes, but most people in this state would agree action is necessary to improve transparency, increase community confidence and faith in local government.”
The draft Code of Meeting Practice will be on public exhibition from 24 October to 4 December 2025. Community members can view the proposal and make a submission via Council’s Have Your Say page.
Article by Kim Smee and Avi Vince.
