Open forum at briefings?

Mayor Stuart Crosby

A confidential lunchtime "get-together" of Tauranga councillors today will discuss whether to open up confidential briefings to the public.

Lunchtime get-togethers have happened once a month and usually precede an early afternoon council meeting.

Mayor Stuart Crosby, responding to the disclosure that the new-look council has held 86 secret meetings since elected 18 months ago, said that at today's lunch councillors would discuss the general issue of briefings, whether they should be publicly notified, and what briefings scheduled for next month could be held in the open.

The new council, with seven new faces, opted to reverse the practice of the previous council which held most of its workshops in the open.

It argued that many briefings held in the first year were to bring them up to speed on issues. But two survivors from the old council, Rick Curach and Catherine Stewart, are concerned about the volume of information being moved behind closed doors, arguing that the public should be brought into the loop earlier.

But the Tauranga council is not alone - neighbouring councils also hold confidential briefings.

The Western Bay District Council has held 42 policy development workshops during the past 18 months, half directly related to development of the annual plan and long-term plan. No decisions were made at the workshops.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council held workshops not open to the public.

Rotorua's council workshops were mainly closed to the public and no decisions were made at them. Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson was unable to put a figure on how many were held.

Hamilton's council has had 43 closed-door sessions since the 2013 election. No decisions were made at them.