❓ Question regarding the authority of local governments to ban media from public meetings and whether the head of the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage Reform Team was instructed to avoid discussing issues with the media. The answer clarifies the legal position on closing meetings and refers questions about ministerial instructions to the Minister for Planning.
AnsweredQoN 3940Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to a recent incident, reported on 21 July
2018, in which a Post Newspapers reporter was asked to leave a public City of
Subiaco council meeting at the request of the head of the Department of
Planning, Lands and Heritage Reform Team, and ask: (a) Do local governments have the authority to ban media from public meetings: (i) If so, why; (b) Was the head of the Reform Team instructed by any Minister or Ministerial Staff not to discuss issues at the
meeting if media were present; and (c) Was the head of the Reform Team
instructed by any Minister or Ministerial Staff not to discuss the planning review
with media?
2018, in which a Post Newspapers reporter was asked to leave a public City of
Subiaco council meeting at the request of the head of the Department of
Planning, Lands and Heritage Reform Team, and ask: (a) Do local governments have the authority to ban media from public meetings: (i) If so, why; (b) Was the head of the Reform Team instructed by any Minister or Ministerial Staff not to discuss issues at the
meeting if media were present; and (c) Was the head of the Reform Team
instructed by any Minister or Ministerial Staff not to discuss the planning review
with media?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 October 2018
Responded by
Minister for Local Government
Response time
8 days
(a) No, however local governments have the authority to close council meetings or parts of a meeting to members of the public under section 5.23 of the Local Government Act;
(b-c) This is a matter for the Minister for Planning.
(b-c) This is a matter for the Minister for Planning.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.