The doors to Yarra Ranges Council’s public gallery are set to reopen to the public at the Tuesday 11 July regular meeting, two and a half months since Yarra Ranges Council shut out the gallery from meetings indefinitely.
The decision was initially announced on Thursday 20 April after two meetings had been adjourned this year, and was expected to last until at least June but has stretched into July.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child said he was looking forward to welcoming community members into the public gallery once again.
“While it was disappointing to have to make the decision to close the gallery, it was a necessary decision to ensure we could maintain a safe workplace for our staff, councillors and community members, and ensure our meetings could be run in an orderly manner,” he said.
“Since then, Council has continued to livestream its meetings, and community members who wished to make a submission regarding an item on the agenda, or submit a Question to Council or a Petition, have still been able to do so online,”
“While welcoming our community physically back into the public gallery on 11 July, we ask that everyone who attends does so respectfully. Any inappropriate comments or behaviour will not be tolerated, and individuals will be asked to leave if necessary.”
Yarra Ranges Council made the call to close the gallery due to councillors and council staff facing a ‘consistent and increasing pattern of verbal abuse, intimidation and anti-social behaviour’ at public meetings by certain attendees.
Cr Child said public Council Meetings provided an important opportunity for the community to see and hear Council make important decisions to help achieve the best outcomes for the community
“We have many community members wanting to attend so that they can participate and share their stories about decisions being considered that impact them directly,” he said.
“They, along with councillors and staff, have the right to attend these meetings without being abused, threatened or intimidated, and we hope that the disruptions we experienced earlier this year will be a thing of the past.”
A Supreme Court case brought by Darren Dickson regarding Yarra Ranges Council’s decision to close the public gallery made it to the Supreme Court on Tuesday 4 July and was adjourned by Supreme Court Justice Melinda Richards for a one-day trial on Thursday 3 August.
