Council’s need to broadcast their meetings

With advances in technology we are missing an opportunity to better engage with local government, and I am advocating for their meetings to be recorded via video and broadcasted live.

I have long suggested that councils should be broadcasting their meetings so that members of the public can be informed. The response to my query is almost like clock work. “Members of the public are not that interested and no one wants it”.

Recently I attended a meeting in Stanthorpe regarding de-amalgamation. The recurring theme was that the community didn’t feel that council was working for them.

I believe that council’s for the most part are working hard for their communities, but the lack of communication is breaking down trust. A simple remedy to this would be to broadcast council meetings or allow people to view the footage after a meeting to see exactly how hard council works for the community.

At the same time, when community members feel aggrieved, there is no misrepresentation to be made. People can easily go back and view exactly what was said and by who.

Federal and State governments have done this for many years. It has given people an insight into how those layers of government are working for them. Elections are held no differently, so the expectations should be no different.

Working class people who have no opportunity to be in the gallery of council meetings are being left in the dark, and it is time that this changed.