Public engagement with Council meetings grows as a result of COVID-19

Since Scenic Rim Regional Council commenced live streaming of Ordinary Meetings each week, more than 600 people have listened in.

Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said it was one of the positives to come out of COVID-19 as Council adapted its meetings to meet the Queensland Government's Health Directives.

"Deploying this technology has enabled us to provide more members of the public with access to our meetings in the comfort of their own home or office," he said.

"It's something we had been interested in exploring for some time, however due to budget constraints we hadn't had the opportunity to implement until now.

"It's really pleasing to see people across our communities showing an interest in regional matters and the process of local government."

With the Queensland Government's latest easing of restrictions, Council will look to move its meetings back to the Beaudesert Chambers in the near future.

Chief Executive Officer Jon Gibbons said adapting to the health directives was complex as Council needed to accommodate the audio requirements, furniture, additional hygiene measures and comply with the 1.5 metre physical distancing rules.

"With the physical distancing restrictions in place, we initially moved from the Beaudesert Chambers into The Centre at Beaudesert so we could comfortably accommodate Councillors and Executive safely by ensuring four square metres per person and 1.5 metre physical distancing," he said.

"However as event restrictions eased, we needed to start re-opening The Centre up to the community for COVID-Safe events.

"We then moved to the old Boonah Chambers so we could keep the room set up with the audio equipment for Ordinary Meetings.

"Interestingly, the former Boonah Shire Council Chambers had not been used for 10 years as a Council meeting venue and this has proven very successful with Council injecting funds into the Boonah economy through equipment purchasing and catering."

"Boonah Chambers is 80 square metres in area, with audio equipment and enough tables to accommodate the Mayor, Councillors, Executive and presenting officers, and so it can be challenging to meet the 1.5 metre physical distancing rules.

"Unfortunately contrary to what people think, the latest easing of restrictions doesn't quite mean that you can double the amount of people who can fit safely in to a venue, as the 1.5 metre separation of people must still be maintained where possible.

"Even going back to the Beaudesert Chambers limits the amount of people who can physically attend the meeting.

"While the ability to attend a meeting in person may not be on the cards for some time, we welcome more community members to listen in as part of our digital gallery or access the recordings post the meeting.

"Over the past ten meetings, we've seen an average of 90 users listen to the recording, far more than ever attended meetings in person, and we hope the fact that we leave our recordings up for access at any time demonstrates we are genuine about being open and transparent with our communities."

Image: Council has been meeting at the old Boonah Chambers.