Speakers will abide by Council’s Code of Conduct when addressing the Council, Committee or Forum.
The Code of Conduct incorporates integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and respect.
The Public Forum does not provide private parliamentary privilege to speakers, Councillors or staff.
Speakers are expected to behave in a manner that does not cause any reasonable person unwarranted offence or embarrassment act lawfully honestly and to exercise a degree of care and diligence in the comments made observe the highest standards of honesty and integrity, and to avoid conduct (verbal/actions) that might suggest any departure from the key principles of conduct avoid any behaviour that could be deemed to be an act of disorder or misbehaviour such as insults or personal reflections on or imputes improper motives when discussing others not behave in a manner that might be considered to be threatening to or harassment of Councillors or Council staff
Unacceptable behaviour at the Public Forum
Persons who conduct themselves in a manner considered by any reasonable person, to be disorderly, will be expelled from the forum in a similar manner as that provided under the Meetings Regulations for Council and Committee meetings (Section 258) Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.
Should the behaviour of a speaker and/or audience be such that the Mayor/Chairperson of the forum deems if necessary to discontinue a particular section of the forum, then the following will apply: speaker and/or persons will be asked to discontinue the offensive behaviour; speaker and/or persons may be asked to leave the building where the meeting is being held; a Police Officer or any person authorised for the purpose by Council, or the person presiding may, by using only such force as is necessary, remove the person/persons from the building and if necessary restrain that person from re-entering the building; the person may be advised to correspond in future with Council via mail or email and/or Council’s appointed legal representative