At the end of Tuesday night’s Lismore City Council meeting, Councillors voted (6-5) to not move into a confidential session, where three issues were to be discussed. 

Instead of discussing the matters in the public arena, the meeting was then closed by Mayor Isaac Smith, and the agenda items were not discussed.

Councillor Nancy Casson was one of the six councillors who voted to keep the session open to the public, and on webcast. 

She said she concerned about the increasing number of issues being brought into confidential sessions of Council meetings. 

“We need to be open and transparent,” Cr Casson said. “Why did we vote whether or not to move into confidential if it wasn’t going to happen?”

Cr Casson said she and Councillors Bennet, Battista, Lloyd, Guise and Ekins all voted to stay out of confidential session.

“I was thrilled when we got six votes to keep the meeting open,” she said. “Then I was disappointed when we should have proceeded, but the mayor shut the meeting down.

“The six of us who voted thought the issues to be discussed were not worthy of being confidential.

“They were about the outcome of what’s happening at the Recycling and Recovery Centre after the fire because we’ve received a few tenders. 

“Also, the disposal of Council land on the Bruxner Highway. The ratepayers should know what’s going on with those things.”

Cr Casson said the only item she deemed worthy of some confidentiality was about the Council Director role position.

“That could have been discussed without mentioning any names,” she said.

“We are getting more and more shoved into confidential mode and I don’t like it.”

Deputy Mayor Darlene Cook was one of the five Councillors who voted to move into confidential session, along with Mayor Smith and Councillors Moorhouse, Marks and Bird.

Cr Cook said she supported Mayor Smith’s decision to keep matters confidential because she believed that staff matters such as making a job temporary or permanent, or Council selling land “shouldn’t be out there in the public arena”.

Read more: Lismore Council votes in support of Julian Assange

Next meeting

The undiscussed matters are likely to appear on the agenda for the next scheduled Council meeting on March 10. It’s possible that meeting could be another lengthy endurance feat for all attendees.

Lismore City Council’s first meeting for 2020 on February 11, was a mammoth five hours long, and involved numerous members of the public speaking on issues before Councillors debated the issues.

The meeting then moved into confidential session at 11pm for another 30 minutes of discussion.

There were still undiscussed matters from that meeting, which meant a continuation of the meeting took place this week on Tuesday, February 25.

After four recision motions were lodged by Councillors following the last meeting/s, the March meeting will again see a return of some of the same matters already discussed. 

There will be a return of discussion about the proposed Fit Farm at Tuncester, Lismore’s Race Day public holiday, the relocation of a house at James Street, Goonellabah and Council’s public conduct policy.

Councillor Casson said she is also introducing a motion for Council to withdraw its Special Rate Variation application to IPART.

“It’s my top priority for March,” she said. “It will be a long meeting.”