KINGSTON Council has divided itself from the public gallery by installing huge transparent glass screens in its council chambers.
The protective glass screens cost nearly $40,000 to install. They sit between the councillors and the public seating at the Kingston Council building in Cheltenham.
Kingston Council customer and corporate support general manager Dan Hogan said safety concerns were the reason for the installation. “Following a number of incidents across Melbourne earlier this year which resulted in council meetings having to be cancelled, postponed, or moved online due to disruptive gallery behaviour, Kingston installed a glass balustrade in the chamber in late September,” Hogan said.
“Kingston is committed to holding council meetings in person whenever possible, to ensure our community can be present to observe proceedings. The design of the balustrade enables attendees to still be able to see and hear everything that is happening in the chamber, while maintaining a respectful and safe distance from those working in an official capacity to conduct the business of council.”
The move has raised some eyebrows among the councillors. Georgina Oxley said she did not think the screens were necessary. “The fence in the chamber is unnecessary, from my experience there have been no incidents that would warrant its installation,” she said.
“The screens have created a very clear physical divide between councillors and the community that doesn’t need to be there. We are there for the community, and the community shouldn’t be blocked off.”
Fellow councillor David Eden said, “in ten years on council I have never seen such a silly waste or money that simply divides councillors from the community.”
Incidents of bad behaviour from the public have been reported across Victorian councils this year. Earlier this year, Yarra Ranges Council went to the extraordinary length of banning the public from attending its public meetings in response to escalating abuse.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 1 November 2023
