community - 2026-06-01

Northern Beaches Council to reconsider meeting rules after NSW Parliament disallows new model code

Source: manlyobserver.com.au

Northern Beaches Council is expected to revisit major changes to how its council meetings run after a motion in the NSW Parliament this week disallowed new statewide meeting rules that had driven the council’s recent overhaul.

Northern Beaches Council is expected to revisit major changes to how its council meetings run after a motion in the NSW Parliament this week disallowed new statewide meeting rules that had driven the council’s recent overhaul. The changes in question included removing the ability for residents to address councillors during council meetings (often referred to as public forum) and ending pre-meeting briefings where staff could brief councillors on agenda items before meetings. The statewide rules were contained in the Local Government (General) Amendment (Model Code of Meeting Practice) Regulation 2025, introduced to councils across NSW in January. Ahead of that deadline, Northern Beaches Council updated its own meeting code to align with the new model, making several additional changes at the same time. Those local changes included banning signs and placards in the council chamber, prohibiting staff from briefing councillors on agenda items before meetings, and restricting councillors from attending meetings via video link except for medical or health reasons. The rewritten model meeting code was disallowed after a coalition of Liberals, Nationals and Greens argued the new rules...