The seemingly burgeoning amount of in-camera (confidentfial) agenda items not only here in Glen Eira but also in other municipalities including the City of Melbourne where a recent meeting had less than twenty mins of public discussion has been highlighted recently. I acknowledge the concerns raised on this issue by the local website Glen Eira debates.
Yesterday I raised the following points with other Crs and the CEO.
-"One of the issues for Glen Eira in 2012 is how to address the seemingly increasing amount of confidential items that are held in the in-camera section of the meeting agenda- increasingly so over the past few years.
Our aim as a Council should be to reduce this to the essential minimum so as to allow for as maximum public discussion as possible on agenda items.
Whilst I acknowledge that there are instances such as business tenders and OH @ S issues that require confidentiality I feel that there needs to be far greater efforts in keeping other items in the public agenda.
Other councils such as Port Phillip if necessary spilt the item in two to allow for public discussion.
At each of the pre-meeting assemblies there should be an improved discussion and questioning as to the why and of the need for any proposed confidential agenda item,"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good one Neil, keep pushing this issue as it is worthy, we can all except tenders and other issues of highly personal matters that may led to necessary harm etc. But most of what the CEO hides from the public gaze usually benefits his predetermined position, which seems to make a lot of this in-camera bussiness more political rather than the other.
ReplyDelete