Speaking at a Council meeting

Members of the community have an opportunity to speak to the elected Councillors on the day of an ordinary Council meeting. All meetings are held at the Council Chambers located in Yalawanyi Ganya on Biripi Way, Taree. They are livestreamed for the members of the public to view.

You can speak on either:

• An item of interest to you that is not on the agenda (our open forum) - held at 9:30am

• An item that is on the agenda of that day’s meeting (our public forum) - held at 10:00am

What do I have to do?

• To speak to Councillors on either type of matter you need to request to speak by making an application.
• Before registering it is important you read our guidelines(PDF, 65KB) as they spell out the rules of speaking at a meeting. It is important to know there are several things you can not speak about. This includes matters relating to a development application that is currently being considered by Council or has already been determined. You can only speak about development application matters if the application is at the meeting for determination.
• The open forum is not livestreamed and you can not attend it remotely. The public forum can be attended remotely and is live streamed.
• Speakers need to be approved by the Mayor, in consultation with the General Manager, before they are able to speak. Once you fill in the registration form you will hear back from us on whether it has been approved or not.

 Request to speak form

When do I have to apply?

The deadline to request to speak at a meeting depends on what you want speak to Councillors about.

• For items that are on the meeting agenda (public forum) you need to have form submitted by 12 noon on the day before the meeting
• For items of interest to you that are not on the agenda (open forum), you need to have the form submitted by 12 noon on the Wednesday prior to the meeting.

Information on when meetings are held can be found on our Council meeting and dates page.

What do I need to know?

• For items on the agenda (public forum) you can apply to speak on up to two items on the one day
• For items of interest to you that are not on the agenda (open forum) you may only apply to speak once
• The public forum is livestreamed and recorded. In applying to speak at this forum you are agreeing to being recorded.
• The open forum is not livestreamed or recorded
  
  

How does it work on the day?

• When you register to speak you will be given a timeslot, please make sure you are at the meeting in time for your allotted spot
• You will be given four minutes to speak and this will be timed. You will hear a bell when you have one minute to go.
• You will need to follow the directions of the Mayor who will let you know when it is your turn and when your time is up
• The Mayor and Councillors may wish to ask you questions

If you aren’t sure how to fill out the request to speak form, please give us a call on 02 7955 7777.