Rotorua's local government organisations are scrambling to meet public transparency obligations as a national lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19 looms.
On Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the escalation of the Covid-19 alert level from 2 to 3.
Tonight at 11.59pm that will rise to alert level 4 - the highest level - which includes a shut-down of all non-essential businesses and enforceable self-isolation. It will continue for at least four weeks.
It means local government elected members can no longer meet in person, and the public, including the media, cannot attend.
Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post hours before the Government announcement, Lyall Thurston - who sits on both the Lakes District Health Board and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council - said moves were "afoot" to ensure meetings remained transparent and open to the public.
"It's immensely important that the public are still kept fully informed with everything happening in terms of local government meetings," Thurston said.
The DHB met on Monday night for an update on the Covid-19 situation via video conferencing, and last night the regional council met, dialling in from Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatāne.
For that meeting, audio options were explored for public accessibility, but Thurston was yesterday not yet clear on the details of how it would work.
"God only knows - everything's by trial and error."
Regional council chief executive Fiona McTavish said it was a "fast-moving situation" and the organisation was aiming to be "as agile as possible" in how it worked.
"This includes looking at how we provide transparency around our meetings."
Live-streaming was not available at the Tauranga headquarters, with members of the public and media wishing to attend meetings being asked to contact the regional council to indicate interest in doing so.
"This will allow us to accommodate them as part of our virtual meeting arrangements. We are also recording our meetings and these will be made available on our website," McTavish said.
A regional council spokeswoman said knowing who wanted to attend in advance allowed them to arrange technological provisions, if possible.
A Lakes DHB spokeswoman said the organisation was "investigating options with regards to our board and advisory committee meetings" and would communicate any developments to the Rotorua Daily Post.
A Local Government NZ spokesman said the majority of councils had live-streaming facilities or were in the process of enabling them.
"Councils are focused on delivering the essential three waters, roading and other services that keep the country running," the spokesman said.
Decisions on key spending on infrastructure and amenities would need to continue, but with increasing cases of self-isolation, as well as physical distancing, councils would be "focusing on the essentials first".
Local Government NZ was also working with the Department of Internal Affairs, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Society of Local Government Managers on advice around quorums and decision-making, so councils could be "confident in their decision-making and have the flexibility to ensure essential services continue".
Rotorua Lakes Council was approached for comment.
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website