Glenorchy City Council is trialling open Council workshops to the public.
Traditionally, Council workshops are held to provide Councillors with information on a range of issues and are closed to the public.
Discussions in workshops provide background on matters that are later presented to formal Council meetings. They are not decision-making forums and are not a meeting of Council as defined in the Local Government Act 1993.
At the May 2024 Council meeting, Council agreed to a six-month open workshop trial. Once a month, following the Glenorchy Planning Authority meeting workshops, members of the public will be welcome to attend a workshop.
Mayor Sue Hickey says that community have been asking to participate in the Council workshop process for some time.
“By opening up some of our workshops to the public we are increasing openness and transparency of Council’s information and decision-making process” she said.
“Even though we don’t make decisions at Council workshops, by opening up key sessions, the public will be able to get a better understanding of how and why our decisions are made.”
The first open workshop has featured a one-hour presentation by workforce demographer Dr Lisa Denny.
Entitled “Looking back to look forward: Understanding population change in Glenorchy to help shape and plan for the community’s future”, Dr Denny spoke about the drivers of population change in Glenorchy and what this means for strategic planning purposes.
Mayor Sue Hickey says this workshop is crucial to strategic planning, following the adoption of the 2024-25 Budget.
“The latest figures show Glenorchy is growing at a rate or around 500 new residents each year” she said.
“We’re sure her expertise will make an impact when planning for the future of the city.”
Check out the presentation here.