Porirua City Council meetings will be live streamed from 10 December, giving the public more opportunities to be involved in the democratic process.
The first meeting to be streamed, will feature the Council’s main committee, Te Puna Kōrero.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the Council streamed two meetings and decided to look into making this permanent.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says this tool of engagement has been investigated before and now the time is right, as many in our community have requested the ability to hear and see what elected members are talking about without being there in person.
It involved upgrading technology in the Council chamber, with a camera to track whomever is speaking, along with high-quality microphones in front of each person.
"In the interests of more people being able to see what our democratic process looks like, this is something we felt was important to make happen," Mayor Baker says.
"Not everyone can make our meetings, due to the times they’re held or over concerns around Covid-19, so watching it live, or replaying it later, will make what we’re doing that much more accessible.
"This is about transparency and making what we are doing reachable to a much wider audience."
The Council’s manager of Democratic Services, Lynlee Baily, says the technology brings us in line with other local government bodies around the country.
"It means the public can make submissions or have their say in public speaking time, without physically coming into the chamber," Ms Baily says.
The 10 December Te Puna Kōrero meeting starts at 8.30am.
Go to the meetings page on our website and click ‘watch now’ to go through to the YouTube page.
8 Dec 2020
