The Shire of Murray holds a variety of meetings, most of which are open to the public. Find out about attending a meeting, or view agendas and minutes here.
There are a number of ways for the community to participate in the Council meeting process, including:
All Council Meetings are livestreamed and recorded in accordance with the Council Policy G16 - Livestream and Recording of Council Meetings. Any member of the public attending should be aware that their image and voice will be captured and be publicly available via the Council meeting livestream and recording.
Public Questions
At all Council Meetings, public question time is available for a member of the community to ask questions about issues affecting the Shire.
Questions from the public are part of every council meeting agenda. They will be either questions with notice, or questions without notice.
If you cannot attend the meeting, let us know and a response will be sent to you. If there is time during public question time the Chairperson may read your question on your behalf, however, those in attendance with questions will be given the opportunity ask their questions first.
Read Public Question Time Rules
Submit a question online
Email us your question
Questions asked in person with notice
If you provide notice of the question(s) you will be asking, a response may be provided at the meeting.
Questions asked in person without prior notice
On the spot questions can still be asked but if more research is needed, your question will be taken on notice and a written response sent to you. A copy of the question and answer will be included in the agenda of the next Ordinary Council Meeting.
Public Question Time Rules
- Members of the public are invited to ask questions at Council Meetings.
- Questions asked at an Ordinary Council meeting must relate to a matter that affects the Shire of
Murray. Questions asked at a Special Council meeting must relate to the purpose for which the
meeting has been called.
- A register will be provided for those persons wanting to ask questions to enter their name. The
Presiding Member may call persons registered to come forward in an order that allows the
maximum opportunity for as many people as possible to address the meeting of matters that are
listed on the agenda. Persons that come forward are to state their name and full address.
- Public question time will be limited to two verbal questions per person to allow for others to also
have the opportunity to participate. If there is remaining time the Presiding Member will then
revert to any person that requested more than two (2) questions be asked within the allotted 15
minutes of Question Time.
- All questions should be succinct and to the point and not extend beyond 2 (two) minutes.
- Statements are not permitted unless it is part of the Deputation section of the meeting.
Deputations must relate to an item on the Council agenda for that meeting and should be
requested in advance to the Chief Executive Officer in writing of the Council Meeting at least 48
hours prior to the meeting. Any decision outside of this procedure is to be decided by the
Council.
- Members of the public are encouraged to keep their questions brief to enable everyone who
desires to ask a question to have the opportunity to do so.
- Public question time will be allocated a minimum of 15 minutes and may be extended in
intervals of up to 10 minutes by resolution of Council, but the total time allocated for public
questions to be asked and responses given is not to exceed 35 minutes in total.
- Questions are to be directed to the Presiding Member and shall be asked politely, in good faith,
and are not to be framed in such a way as to reflect adversely or be defamatory on a particular
Elected Member or Shire employee. The Presiding Member shall decide to:
i. Accept or reject any question and their decision is final;
ii. Nominate a Shire employee to respond to the question; Or;
iii. Take a question on notice. In this case a written response will be provided as soon as
possible, and included in the agenda of the next Council meeting.
- Questions and any response will be summarised and included in the minutes of the Council
meeting.
- It is not intended that question time should be used as a means to obtain information that would
not be available if it was sought from the Shire’s records under Section 5.94 of the Local
Government Act 1995 or the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act). Where the response to
a question/s would require a substantial commitment of Shire’s resources, the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) will determine that it is an unreasonable impost upon the Shire and refuse it. The
CEO will advise the member of the public that the information may be sought in accordance
with the FOI Act.
Deputations
Community members are welcome to make a presentation about an item on the Council Meeting agenda. These presentations made by community are called deputations.
The Shire of Murray Meeting Procedures Local Law 2015 clause 3.4 sets the procedures for Deputations.
How to make a deputation
- The Chief Executive Officer must approve deputation requests first, and these need to be received at least two business days before the meeting.
- Up to five people can attend a meeting to present a deputation, however, only two may address the council during the presentation. The other three may respond to specific questions from Councillors.
- A deputation is limited to 10 minutes, including question time and discussion, and must relate to an agenda item listed for consideration at the meeting you wish to address.
- Only one subject per application form. If you want to make a deputation on more than one agenda item at any meeting, it’s a good idea to contact us for advice.
- If you have printed material to support your deputation, please bring 14 copies with you to the meeting. These will be given to the Councillors to read.
- You must clearly state on your application form if you’ll be using a PowerPoint presentation as part of your deputation. PowerPoint presentations are not allowed without the prior consent of the Shire CEO.
Submit a Deputation Request
Petitions
Petitions inform the Council, in a public way, of the views of sections of the community and they serve as a way of placing community concerns before Council.
The Shire of Murray Meeting Procedures Local Law 2015 clause 3.6 sets the procedures for Petitions.
Any elector of the Shire of Murray, or group of electors, may petition the Council to take some form of action over a particular issue. It is important to note that the subject of a petition must be a matter on which the Council has the power to act.
Petition requirements
A petition is to:
- Be addressed to the Shire President
- Be made by electors of the district
- State the request on each page of the petition
- Contain the name, address and signature of each elector making the request, and the date each elector signed
- Contain a summary of the reasons for the request
- State the name and address of the person (Initiator) to whom the Shire can contact regarding the petition.
Presenting a petition to Council
A petition can be presented to Council at an Ordinary Council Meeting.
Any Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer can present a petition. The Initiator is to ensure the petition is forwarded to a Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer prior to the start of the meeting at which they would like the petition presented. It is appreciated if the petition can be provided to the Shire by 12 noon the day of the meeting to assist with meeting procedures.
Presentation of a petition does not mean the Shire agrees with its content.
What happens at the Council Meeting?
At Item 5 of the Agenda, the Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer presenting the petition will read out the name and suburb of the Initiator of the petition, a summary of the reasons for the petition along with the number of signatures collected.
At the time of presentation, no discussion or voting on the subject matter of a petition takes place.
At any meeting, the council is not to vote on any matter that is the subject of a petition presented to that meeting, unless
(a) the matter is the subject of a report included in the agenda; and
(b) the council has considered the issues raised in the petition.
Petitions are Public Documents
All petitions tabled at Council Meetings are public documents, which may be inspected by members of the public at any time. This is provided for under Section 5.94 (P)(i) of the Local Government Act 1995.
What happens next?
Upon receiving a petition, the petition will be provided to the relevant Officer to be included in deliberations and report on the matter that is the subject of the petition.
An Officer will advise the Initiator what action will be taken when dealing with the petition. A report may be prepared and presented to Council on the issue.
Even though petitions may seem to produce no immediate or obvious result, they serve as a way to make Council aware of community concerns.
Meeting Procedures
Meeting Procedures Local Law
E-meeting Guidelines for the public
Online Council Meetings
As of February 2025, the Shire has live streamed Council Meetings. Please be advised recording is taking place in Council Chambers should you attend in person.
Watch and listen to live Council meetings online