Waitomo District Council (WDC) has confirmed its move to implement webcasting of its monthly meetings.

COVID-19 lockdown restrictions earlier in the year meant the public were unable to attend some meetings. Since then there have been calls from the community for meetings to be available online.

Council made the decision in November 2019 that it should webcast meetings and that this would be delivered over time.

Webcasting forms part of councils meeting framework and has its own set of protocols which must be followed.

Council chief executive Chris Ryan said he recognised engagement with the community was important and that he welcomed the webcast option.  It will make it easier for people to engage with and understand the business of Council “and that’s a good thing”.

Chris goes on to say, the lockdown and other restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic required other matters be given priority.  With the recent move to a national Alert Level 1 status we could turn our attention to our other projects such as the transition to webcasting.

“We’ve ordered new equipment which will be added to what we already have, and we expect the equipment to be installed in about six to eight weeks’ time,” adds Chris.

The elected council will also need to finalise its webcast operating protocol before the webcasting of its meeting becomes operational.