No place for disruptive behaviour in meetings

A police presence was noticeable ahead of Baw Baw Shire Council’s special budget submissions meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

It pre-empted a meeting of more than 100 council representatives from across the state in Melbourne on Thursday to discuss “the rising levels of unpredictable and disruptive behaviour at council meetings”.

Baw Baw Shire governance and information services director Martin Hopley said council had not changed its meeting arrangements but was “actively considering this rapidly evolving issue”.

“Council is prepared to change arrangements for council meetings should the type of disruptive behaviour we are seeing elsewhere be experienced here,” Mr Hopley said. “Until such a time, however, we will continue to operate in a way that allows for maximum public participation.”

Speaking of Wednesday’s meeting, split into an afternoon and evening session with more than 140 people in the gallery, Mr Hopley said council was pleased to see such a large number of engaged community members participate in the budget process “in such a respectful and conscientious manner.”

Two police members were seen in the council chambers before the afternoon session, but left before the meeting began.

“Victoria Police and other stakeholders are also aware of the issues affecting councils in this space, and council is taking proactive measures to ensure we are well equipped to respond should disruptive behaviour occur here,” Mr Hopley said.

A statement from Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) president David Clark titled “local government come together to protect democracy” was released on Thursday.

“Victorian councils are being caught up in what is a global trend of community disruption and we need to act together and consistently in response to these issues,” Cr Clark said.

“The ongoing behaviour we have seen at council meetings is threatening and unpredictable, and it has no place in our communities.

“Councils are right to take a zero tolerance approach, as the people most at risk are often other community members who are in the gallery with the disruptive people,” he said.

Mr Hopley said Baw Baw was not represented at Thursday’s meeting but “had strong representation at other recent meetings on the topic.”

“From those meetings, we have taken away valuable and instructive insights from the experiences of other councils,” he said. “Using those insights, we have updated appropriate meeting safety documentation to account for potential disruptive behaviour,” Mr Hopley said.