Council
19 November, 2025
Speaking time restricted to 30 seconds as councillors rush to get through packed agenda
Wingecarribee Shire councillors were restricted to a speaking time of just 30 seconds at Wednesday’s meeting as they struggled to get through a packed agenda in time.
Wingecarribee Shire councillors were restricted to a speaking time of just 30 seconds at Wednesday’s meeting as they struggled to get through a packed agenda in time.
Councillor Sara Moylan moved a procedural motion at the start of the meeting that council meet twice this month given the size and complexity of Wednesday’s agenda.
Her motion was lost.
Wednesday’s agenda contained 22 staff reports as well as a matter relating to the Wingecarribee Out of School Hours Service that was discussed in closed council.
One of the 22 reports discussed in open council included a staff recommendation that council provide in-principle support for the proposed adaptive re-use proposal for Berrima Gaol, based on a number of conditions.
Another report included the staff recommendation that council adopt its draft Community and Engagement Strategy 2025-2029.
Members of the public had addressed council on both reports during the public forum, which was held before the council meeting got underway.
A procedural motion was moved after the first 12 items restricting councillors to a speaking time of just one minute.
They are normally allowed to speak for three minutes – although a new Code of Meeting Practice will extend that to five minutes.
Another procedural motion was moved after the first 16 items halving the speaking time for councillors to just 30 seconds.
After the 19th item was carried it was becoming increasingly apparent that council would struggle to get through the entire business paper by its 7pm deadline.
Cr Moylan asked Mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick as chair of the meeting to slow things down given that one councillor had momentarily lost track of where they were up to.
She said staff had invested an enormous amount of time and energy into the reports under consideration and the meeting was moving too quickly for councillors to be able to do their job properly.
She said some of the decisions being made at Wednesday’s meeting would have a significant impact on the community.
At one stage, after being interrupted by Cr Fitzpatrick, Cr Moylan asked if she could finish her point.
The Mayor’s one-word response was a simple ‘No’.
It is not the first time that concerns have been expressed over the size of agendas and the length of council meetings.
Cr Moylan tabled a Notice of Motion at council’s August 20 meeting seeking to amend the Code of Meeting Practice to provide for ordinary meetings on the first and third Wednesday of each month from February to November and for one ordinary meeting in December.
She said it would be a “sensible measure” to return to fortnightly meetings as it would allow more time for debate and “ensure we are producing considered decisions for the community”.
Cr Moylan argued that long meetings were “not conducive to good decision-making” and that restrictions placed on the speaking time for councillors “fly in the face of democracy and advocacy”.
She said staff reports needed – and deserved – due consideration.
However the majority of councillors lacked any appetite for fortnightly meetings and her Notice of Motion was defeated.
· Keep reading The Southern Wire for more news from Wednesday’s meeting.
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