Request to Speak at a Meeting
Community members are welcome to attend Council meetings and get involved in Council's decision-making process.
There are a couple of ways to do this, either by submitting a Question of Council or speaking to Council during the Open Forum session held at the start of each meeting.
It's important to note that Council meetings are recorded and made publicly available. This means:
- your address to Council will be livestreamed to the public
- your address to Council will be included in the published audio recording of the meeting on Council’s website (available for 12 months), i.e. you may be asked to identify yourself (name and town) when addressing Council
- meetings are open to the public and the media may be present
- your name will be listed in the published minutes of the meeting
If you are speaking as part of Public Participation, be mindful of personal or sensitive information when addressing Council.
How does Open Forum work?
Open Forum sessions are held at the beginning of every monthly Council meeting and allow members of the public to address Council about a particular topic.
There are two options for Open Forum, which are detailed below.
Present to Council (via Zoom or in person)
If you wish to present to Council virtually you will need to register by 4.00 pm on the day prior to the Scheduled Meeting of Council using the form below.
If you would prefer to present in person you can register using the below form or in person prior to the meeting beginning.
Request to be Heard - Open Forum
If you have registered to present virtually, you will be sent a link inviting you as an attendee of the meeting to enable you to present.
Place a submission to be read
If you do not wish to present to Council in person (or online) then you can make a submission on a topic included in the Agenda to be read by the CEO on your behalf.
This submission needs to be no longer than one side of an A4 page (less than 400 words) and must clearly state your name. This submission must be submitted via email to governance@murrindindi.vic.gov.au by 4.00 pm the day prior to the meeting.
Open Forum Guidelines
Any member of the public addressing Council must extend due courtesy and respect to Council and the processes under which it operates and must take direction from the Mayor whenever called on to do so.
- The Mayor will allocate a maximum of 5 minutes to each person who wishes to address Council
- The Mayor or Chief Executive Officer will first invite any person who has given prior notice to present to Council
- The Mayor or Chief Executive Officer have the discretion to alter the order of persons to be heard
There will be no discussion or debate with the attendees to Open Forum however Councillors may ask questions of clarification of the attendee.
Submissions as part of Open Forum may be on any matter except if it:
- is considered malicious, defamatory, indecent, abusive, offensive, irrelevant, trivial, or objectionable in language or substance
- relates to confidential information as defined under the Act
- relates to the personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer
- relates to any other matter which the Council considers would prejudice the Council or any person
The Mayor reserves the right to cease a submission as part of Open Forum if he or she deems the submission inappropriate.
It is preferable for any group or association that wishes to be heard at Open Forum to nominate a spokesperson for an issue upon which the group or association may wish to be heard.
How does Questions of Council work?
This process allows for members of the public to submit a question of Council to be read and a response given as part of a Council Meeting. Council must receive prior notice of questions to be heard as part of Questions of Council time.
Questions submitted to the Council must:
- be in written form
- contain the name, address and email or contact telephone number of the person submitting the question
- be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer
- be submitted no later than 4.00 pm on the day prior to the Council meeting by:
Personal information you provide by completing this form is managed in line with our Privacy Policy.
Questions of Council guidelines
Questions must be received exactly as intended to be read. No more than two questions will be accepted from any person at any one meeting.
Questions may be on any matter except if it:
- is considered malicious, defamatory, indecent, abusive, offensive, irrelevant, trivial, or objectionable in language or substance
- relates to confidential information as defined under the Act
- relates to the personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer
- relates to any other matter which the Council considers would prejudice the Council or any person
Copies of all questions allowed by the Chief Executive Officer will be provided in writing to all Councillors.
Where the Chief Executive Officer does not accept a question, the submitter is to be informed, both verbally and in writing, of the reason or reasons for which their question was not accepted.
The Chief Executive Officer or delegate will provide a response to the Questions of Council in the Council Meeting and the responses will be documented in the meeting minutes.