Yarra Ranges Mayor Jim Child closed last night's Council meeting to the public following a number of outbursts from people attending the meeting.
"Due to the safety of Councillors and staff, I felt I had no other course of action but to close the meeting to the public," he said.
"Police were called to assist with the crowd of 100+ agitators, who didn't follow the rules we set down for Council meetings. Sadly, this had an unfair impact on those who did. I'd like to thank the police who assisted with the crowd and ensured that people left the Council meeting safely."
The meeting was reconvened online at about 9pm. All meetings are recorded and available to watch online live and after the meetings.
Council holds meetings to conduct the business of Council that are governed by the Local Government Act 2020. The Act states that meetings will only be closed to the public if:
- There are clear reasons for particular matters to remain confidential,
- A meeting is required to be closed for security reasons,
- Or it is necessary to enable the meeting to proceed in an ordinary manner.
"Whilst we welcome the views of our community and are keen for them to take part in Council meetings, we need to make sure that this is done in a safe and respectful environment for staff, Councillors and other members of the gallery," said Cr Child.
"All community members are welcome to submit questions, submissions, and petitions to Council for consideration and an answer."
Public question time is held at every Council meeting as close as practical to the start of the meeting. A maximum of 15 minutes is allocated for questions that have been submitted.
