Whakatāne District Council will start live streaming Council and Committee meetings via its YouTube channel from this week.
There has been increasing demand for real-time live streaming and subsequent recordings of Council and Committee meetings, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when there was limited in-person access.
Whakatāne District Council Manager Governance Services, Chirese Viljoen, says it is an exciting development to launch the live streaming functionality.
“During the main Council building refurbishment, which was completed last year, we were able to install adequate technology to enable live streaming from the Council Chambers (Room Tōtara),” Ms Viljoen explains.
“Live streaming is designed to ensure greater transparency and access to local government and democracy. Anyone will be able to visit the Council’s YouTube channel and watch in real-time any of the Council and Standing Committee meetings from anywhere. It will be much easier for members of our communities to see the decision-making process as it happens, and understand the context behind those decisions.”
The first meeting that will be live streamed is the Infrastructure and Planning Standing Committee meeting at 9am on Thursday, 15 February. Thorough testing has been carried out by Council staff, and Ms Viljoen says everything is tracking well for a successful launch.
“We are confident that we’ve done what we can to ensure the technology and processes in place are as robust as possible. However, as with anything technology-based, there may be teething issues and we ask that our viewers are patient while we work through any glitches if they arise. As a reminder, members of the public are still welcome to attend Council and Standing Committee meetings in-person in the Council Chambers if they prefer.”