City of Greater Geelong to close council meetings to public but keep up livestreaming

THE City of Greater Geelong council will continue to meet but the public will not be able to attend in person, as part of the city’s response to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The city says its decision was part of a wider suite of measures aimed at supporting the health of the community, staff and volunteers and protecting the provision of the city’s critical services.
All council meetings – including the one held on Tuesday this week – will continue to be livestreamed at geelongaustralia.com.au/meetings, and recordings will be available for viewing on the website later that week.
Community Focus Council Meetings, which are normally held at venues throughout the municipality on the second Tuesday of the month, will be moved to City Hall to enable them to be livestreamed.
Residents are invited to lodge questions and submissions that they wish to put to the council, and the council will continue to address those questions and submissions in the meetings.
Questions and submissions must be lodged by noon on the Monday before the meeting in order to be considered at the council meeting.
A safe physical distance will be maintained between councillors and appropriate hygiene measures will be followed, in accordance with the advice of the Department of Health and Human Safety.
“Council’s top priority is protecting the health and wellbeing of the Greater Geelong community, which is why we’re following recommendations to limit gatherings of people,” Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said.
“Residents will still be able to get involved by making submissions for question time and watching the meetings online.”
The city has established a ‘Coronavirus Support’ page, which includes information on the impacts to events, facilities and city services, at geelongaustralia.com.au.