Public Participation at a Meeting

A period of up to 30 minutes, or such longer time as the meeting may determine, will be available for the public forum at each scheduled local authority meeting. Requests must be made to the Chief Executive (or their delegate) at least two clear days before the meeting; however, this requirement may be waived by the chairperson. Requests should also outline the matters that will be addressed by the speaker(s).

Speakers will be allowed up to five minutes to speak and respond to questions. Questions must be confined to obtaining information or clarification on matters raised by a speaker/s. Questions over the time limit are at the discretion of the Chairperson. Where the number of speakers presenting in the public forum exceeds six in total, the Chairperson has discretion to restrict the speaking time permitted for all presenters or limit people speaking in support of or in opposition to the same matter.

There are also other ways for you to engage with your Council. If you are looking for information that Council holds, please submit an Official Information Request. If you want to report something that needs fixing, please use our Get It Sorted Form, and you can always reach us by phone, email or in person.

What to do if you would like to speak?

Your intention to speak at any meeting must be notified to the Committee Advisor at least two clear days prior to the meeting but preferably as soon as practicable. Requests to speak with less than two clear days notice should be formally requested through the chair of the meeting you wish to address and are approved at the chair’s discretion.

If you need more information please contact Shanin Brider if your question is about speaking at a Community Board or Māori Standing Committee meeting, or Amy Andersen about speaking at a Council or any other committee meeting.

You should provide the Committee Advisor the following information:

• Your name, title and contact details
• Which meeting you wish to address
• The subject matter
• If you are representing an organisation or group, the name of the organisation and any other speakers attending with you
• A summary of the matters you intend to raise (optional).

What topics can you comment on?

Council has adopted Standing Orders which outline public forum provisions. Public forums are designed to enable members of the public to bring matters to the attention of the Council, Community Board or any of Council’s committees. You may bring any matter to the attention of members subject to restrictions as below.

No debate or decisions will be made at the meeting on issues raised during the forum unless related to items already on the agenda.

Restrictions

The Chairperson has the discretion to decline to hear a speaker or to terminate a presentation at any time where:

• A speaker’s request does not comply with these standing orders;

• A speaker’s request is not appropriate;

• It is necessary to reduce public forum time to deal with business on the agenda;

• A speaker is repeating views presented by an earlier speaker at the same public forum;

• The speaker is criticising elected members and/or staff;

• The speaker is being repetitious, vexatious, disrespectful or offensive;

• The speaker has previously spoken on the same issue;

• The matter is subject to legal proceedings; and

• The matter is subject to a hearing, including the hearing of submissions where the local authority or committee sits in a quasi-judicial capacity.

Before the meeting

The Committee Advisor will confirm the meeting date, time and location as well as allocate you a speaking time. Members of the public can access the agendas and minutes on our website.

Members of the public have from time to time been able to participate in the public forum via audio visual conferencing (MS Teams). You will be allocated you a speaking slot for the meeting. Upon accessing the link you will be placed in a waiting room and permitted entrance by the host. Please note, we are unable to admit any person to SWDC Teams meetings where Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools or applications are being used (this is typically linked to a person’s email account and is visible to administrators of meetings when admitting attendees). The key reasons for this is to safeguard privacy and maintain network security. The Council does not yet have an AI Policy in place, but this will be explored in the future.

In face to face meetings, you will need to bring a minimum of 12 copies of any material you are presenting so copies can be distributed to the Mayor, Councillors and Council officers, or alternatively provide an electronic copy to the Committee Advisor one working day prior to the meeting and copies will be made for you at no charge.

Please arrive early in case the public participation section of the meeting is running ahead of the schedule and take a seat in the public gallery area. If attending virtually, please ensure your camera and microphone are set to off/muted until your allocated time to make your public comment.

What happens at the meeting?

When your name is read out by the chair, take a seat at the meeting table (if meeting face to face). Use your speaking time effectively. If there is time left at the end of your presentation, the chair will facilitate any questions from elected members. These must fall within the time given to you.

Following your public comment, you may take a seat in the public area to hear proceedings. If you are attending virtually via audio visual conferencing, after your participation you will be removed from the meeting to assist with our meeting management, however, are welcome to watch the remainder of the meeting on Livestream. We also ask that any other members of the public without a confirmed speaking slot watch the Livestream rather than have the MS Teams link shared with them as it assists with our meeting management.

Councillors will consider your requests directly following the public forum, or if there is a decision report from the Chief Executive on the subject, your request will be considered alongside the report during the course of the meeting.

Every now and then an issue will be brought to the Council by staff or elected representatives which requires discussion in confidence. There will be a specific reason why the public is not allowed to listen to that item. If this happens, any members of the public or media will be asked to leave the room (or MS Teams meeting) until the discussion is finished. You will then be able to return to the room.

After the meeting

Personal information such as your name and a brief summary of your comments will be included in the meeting minutes. All information you present will be in the public realm and media representatives may also be present. You cannot ask elected members to keep information presented confidential. If you have any concerns in relation to your privacy, please raise this with the Committee Advisor in the first instance.

You will receive a follow up email with the link to minutes from the meeting, once they are publicly available. Any further queries can be directed to an elected representative from your ward.

Information current as at 06 November 2025