Wimmera, Victorian councils to meet online after coronavirus omnibus bill passes

Time-sensitive planning permits and council policies have ground to a halt for several Victorian councils after April ordinary meetings were delayed or cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Wimmera councils have approached the matter differently in the past few weeks.

At the start of the month, Hindmarsh Shire Council cancelled its April 22 and June 10 meetings and relocated meetings scheduled for May 13 and June 24 to the Nhill Memorial Community Centre.

Northern Grampians Shire Council moved its April 6 meeting to the Stawell Town Hall entertainment centre.

West Wimmera Shire Council ran its April meeting in Kaniva in person, but without a gallery.

Both Horsham Rural City Council and Yarriambiack Shire Council cancelled their meetings.

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Horsham mayor Mark Radford hoped councillors would be able to meet virtually on May 14.

He said if the council meeting was online, people would have the chance to watch or listen to it.

People will also continue to have the option to ask questions with notice.

Cr Radford said councillors would have a "practice run" before an online meeting to ensure everything worked smoothly.

He highlighted formalities such as speaking to stand, and managing conflicts as interest, as points of difference from an in-person meeting.

"It will be different in lots of ways," he said.

Cr Radford said the next council meeting would include an update on the City to River project.

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West Wimmera mayor Bruce Meyer said councillors would decide whether they wished to meet online or in person for their next meeting.

"You can't beat face-to-face," Cr Meyer said.

"It would be good and safer and all the rest, but it doesn't have that atmosphere."

Cr Meyer conceded it was more than likely councillors would meet online for the near future.

"I'm expecting it will be that way. Most people are accepting that's the way it goes," he said.

Council livestreamed its April meeting to Facebook, where it was viewed more than 1300 times.

"That's greater than what we ever would have believed," Cr Meyer said.

"When you have a gallery there might be half a dozen people - sometimes more, sometimes less.

"You've got to be quite pleased with that."

Cr Meyer said he missed the chance to communicate directly with the gallery during the meeting.

"Having a meeting and having it livestreamed are different. You don't know who you're talking to," he said.

"This is just a whole new world."

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In recent weeks, councillors from across the state have joined the Municipal Association of Victoria to lobby against laws that prevented council ordinary and special meetings from taking place online.

The COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 passed both houses during an emergency sitting of parliament on Thursday.

Debate on a range of urgent bills started in the morning and continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Association president Coral Ross said the change to allow councils to meet electronically was essential.

"We welcome this change as a positive, common-sense decision," she said.

The bill also contains temporary changes the government hopes will increase the number of judge-only trials and ease pressure on a crippled rental system.

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