By Callum Ludwig
Once again the question has been asked of Yarra Ranges Council to consider cutting down on security spending, this time as a potential cost-saving measure.
Stan Giles put forward a question to the council at the final council meeting of the year on Tuesday 10 December as to whether the security, implemented after Council meetings were shut down in 2023.
Mr Giles said we mustn’t have a lot of unruly ratepayers out there and it’s the only council in Victoria that needs guards and pre-registration.
“Some time ago, over a year ago, we had a very rowdy group of people who were a bit hot-headed and very threatening and as a result the Chamber got cleared and we had this barrier in from this requirement to pre-register and guards,” he said.
“Since then, we often have more people in the Chamber and officers than we have in the gallery so we’re actually outnumbered, but having said all that, my major thing was Councillor Child’s first acceptance speech he said he was trying to cut the costs and I was just looking at the costs of the guards, the requirement of the guards and the requirement to register,”
“When exactly will the security guards at the council meeting be removed and the barrier in the chamber taken down and if this will not happen what is the business case to justify the continued drain on ratepayers and the return on investment… this is only a thing that affects councillors… the general public won’t be disadvantaged other than they might be able to attend without registering and you benefit from free input from your ratepayers, the people who are actually experiencing the results of your decisions.”
The gallery of Yarra Ranges Council meetings was closed for two and a half months between Thursday 20 April and Tuesday 11 July 2023 after two meetings were adjourned due to ‘verbal abuse, intimidation and anti-social behaviour’.
Yarra Ranges Council introduced an attendance registration and identification check due the day before any Council meeting, with options for attendees to fill out an attendance form online, call the Council’s customer service team or speak with a customer service representative at one of the Community Links throughout the region.
Attendees must provide their first and last name, home address, phone number and email address to register, and upon arrival must present valid identification such as a driver’s license, passport or ID card which will be checked against their registration.
A physical barrier between the Council roundtable and the gallery seating was also implemented and security guards were hired for meetings from Tuesday 14 February 2023 onwards.
Acting Director of Corporate Services at Yarra Ranges Council Ben Waterhouse responded to Mr Giles and said Council takes the health and safety of staff, councillors and community members with the utmost seriousness.
“So the return on investment or the benefits are reflected in the safe and respectful environment of council meetings, which we all enjoy this evening, which is a fundamental responsibility of council,” he said.
“The engagement of external security and the installation of the security barrier as you pointed out for public meetings is a standard operating procedure to help ensure council meets its obligations to conduct an orderly and safe meeting,”
“I can confirm that there are no plans to remove the security guards or the barrier at this stage, the utilization of security in the barrier is approved within management and executive oversight, including business case consideration at the time of which it was implemented.”
At the Tuesday 27 April 2023 Yarra Ranges Council meeting, Yarra Ranges Council confirmed in a response to a question from the public that the Council had spent $12,600 on security costs in the time between that meeting and the 14 February 2023 meeting when security guards were first hired.
