Board workshops with council officials will be closed to the public over the coming three years after Waiheke’s new board, chaired by Cath Handley, voted by three votes to two to follow council officer advice.
Former board chairman Paul Walden had tabled a notice of motion, seconded by board member Kylee Matthews, that had proposed that all workshops, including for committees, in the new term should be open to the public and subject to the normal rules of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.
The act requires a protocol of published agendas and minutes and allows local authorities to exclude members of the public when necessary and for stated reasons. •Liz Waters
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