2018-12-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                11 DECEMBER 2018


5.   Concerns by some staff
     Some Council staff have expressed concern at the potential for their responses in Council
     and Committee meetings to be taken out of context and reproduced online by other parties.
     This is particularly the case for those staff who report to Council on regulatory type matters
     where there are strongly held contrary views. Our staff are not “public figures” and they value
     their privacy. While the current practice is that our Council and Committee meetings can be
     audio recorded by the media and staff quoted in the local press as part of that process, some
     staff are concerned about their personal identity appearing online in video. This is already
     the case for staff who work at other Councils who currently undertake live video streaming
     of Council and Committee meetings. At our Council, the intention is to place the camera on
     the Chamber roof looking along the meeting table so that those staff who sit at the end of the
     table will be facing away from the camera. This should minimise, but not completely
     eliminate, some concerns.

6.   Advice from the Queensland Integrity Commissioner
     Councillor Jurisevic has advised that following the decision by Council in September 2018,
     he sought advice from the Queensland Integrity Commissioner on this issue. He provided
     the CEO with a copy of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner’s response. The
     Queensland Integrity Commissioner has provided a good summary of the potential factors
     both in support of and against the proposal. A copy of the full Queensland Integrity
     Commissioner response is attached to this report. When providing their response, the
     Commissioner requests that if their advice is to be disclosed, it should be disclosed in full.

     Before setting out the summary of the potential factors that support or go against the
     proposal, it is also worth highlighting again that the proposed live video streaming of meetings
     does not and cannot replace the role of Council minutes as the formal record of that meeting.

     Set out below is the summary of the potential factors identified by the Queensland Integrity
     Commissioner that support or go against the proposal.

     “Factors that favour supplementary Automated Recording
     •     Verbatim recording of Council meetings provides a highly accurate and reliable record
           of Council decisions, debate and processes. This enhanced transparency, although
           not strictly required, is likely to enhance community trust and faith in public officials and
           their decision making.
     •     There does not appear to be any legal fetter in the LGA or LGR to Council adopting
           supplementary Automated Recording and it may in some ways be consistent with the
           local government principles and your responsibilities as a Councillor.
     •     The use of Automated Recording can be relatively unobtrusive and is arguably, unlikely
           to cause disruption, contention or hinder a Council meeting or the operations of local
           government.
     •     Automated Recording provides a greater opportunity for public scrutiny of a councillor’s
           position on an issue and scrutiny of individual conduct at Council meetings. This in turn
           has the potential to enhance the democratic process through greater accountability
           and transparency of individual councillor’s actions.
     •     Automated Recording is in line with growing community expectations for immediate or
           fast access to alternative electronic formats, particularly over the internet. Councils that
           adopt these means have the potential to be seen as responsive and aligned with
           community needs.
     •     In the event that a Council decision is challenged, Automated Recording might be used
           as best evidence of its decisions and deliberations.



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