Council meetings

Ordinary Meetings

Ordinary Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 9.00am at the Council Chambers, 40 Cherry Street, Ballina (except for December - second Thursday).  There are no Ordinary meetings held in January each year.

2024 Ordinary meeting dates are as follows

• Wednesday 24 April 2024 - please note change of date due to Anzac Day
• Thursday 23 May 2024
• Thursday 27 June 2024
• Thursday 25 July 2024
• Thursday 22 August 2024
• September meeting cancelled due to Local Government election on 14 September
• Thursday 24 October 2024
• Thursday 28 November 2024
• Thursday 12 December 2024

Deputations to Council

Deputations by members of the public may be made at Council meetings on matters included in the agenda. Deputations are limited to one speaker in the affirmative, and one speaker in opposition and each speaker is given five minutes to address Council. Requests to speak must be lodged in writing or by phone with the General Manager by noon on the day preceding the meeting. 

Members of the public are advised that any documents tabled or given to Councillors during the meeting become Council documents and access may be given to members of the public in accordance with the requirements of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

The use of powerpoint presentations and overhead projectors is permitted as part of the deputation, provided that the speaker has made prior arrangements with the General Manager’s Office at the time of booking their deputation. The setup time for equipment is to be included in the total time of five minutes allocated for the deputation.

To avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived, deputations will not be accepted from: Tenderers during a public tender or request for quotation; Persons or representatives from organisations seeking financial support from Council that involves an expression of interest; Consultants who are engaged by Council on the matter the subject of the deputation.

Public Question Time

The public may ask questions of the Council on any topic during the Public Question Time session of Ordinary meetings. Public question time is held at 12.45pm but may be held earlier if the meeting does not extend to 12.45pm, and will be held for a maximum of 15 minutes.

• Questions are to be addressed to the Chairperson. The period is set aside for questions not statements.
• Questions may be on any topic, not restricted to matters on the agenda for the subject meeting.
• The Chairperson will manage the questions from the gallery to give each person with a question, a “turn”. People with multiple questions will be able to ask just one before other persons with a question will be invited to ask and so on until single questions are all asked and, time permitting, the multiple questions can then be invited and considered.
• Recording of the questions will not be verbatim.
• The standard rules of behaviour in the Chamber will apply.
• Questions may be asked from the position in the public gallery.

Recording of Council Meetings by Other People

In accordance with our Code of Meeting Practice, the recording or taking photos by other people during meetings is not premitted unless permission has been granted from the meeting. 

Agendas 

Agendas for Ordinary Meetings are available for viewing online on the Friday preceding the Council meeting and in hardcopy at the Council Chambers on the Monday preceding the Council meeting. A limited number of hardcopies are available for collection from the Council Chambers. Copies of reports may also be requested from the General Manager's office.

• View previous Council meeting agendas and minutes