February 9, 2022
South Burnett Regional Council has embraced videoconferencing software to allow councillors to attend weekly meetings “virtually” due to the COVID pandemic.
Council began livestreaming its weekly meetings in April 2020 to allow interested residents to watch via the Internet rather than crowding into the public gallery.
But this year – with Queensland’s borders reopening and the Omicron variant exploding across the State – Council has adopted an even safer approach to its operations.
Staff have been asked to work from home where it is possible to do so; visitor information centres and museums have been operating on reduced hours; and Councillors and senior staff have been given the option of using videoconferencing software to attend meetings rather than in person.
Weekly meetings have been closed to the public.
The Council’s first videoconferencing effort at its January 25 General Meeting was plagued by several technical difficulties and poor sound quality.
But in the two weekly meetings held since then, these issues appear to have been solved.
Last week Council CEO Mark Pitt said his highest priorities at the moment were ensuring the public was safe when they interacted with Council, and ensuring staff and Councillors stayed healthy.
Mayor Brett Otto told southburnett.com.au meetings where some Councillors were physically present in the room and some could only be seen on screens took “a little getting used to”.
But Wednesday’s Standing Committee meeting – which ran from 9:00am into the early afternoon – operated smoothly.
The videoconferencing arrangements are expected to continue until the pandemic infection rate in the general community eases.
