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A Public Forum is held during the Council meeting. Members of the public may register to speak at public forums, either in person at Ashfield or via Zoom.
If you would like to speak about an agenda item at a public forum, you must register by 2pm on the day of the forum, by submitting the registration form below.
Only those who register using this registration form will be able to speak at the Public Forum.
Please fill in the register to speak form at the bottom of this page including:
• Whether you are attending in person or online to speak
• Item and Subject on the agenda you wish to speak to
• Whether you are for or against the recommendation in the agenda
• Your name (note if joining online, you must use the same name on Zoom)
• Contact details including email address and phone number
Under the current Code of Meeting Practice, the first three speakers ‘for’ and three speakers ‘against’ each item will be permitted to speak.
Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirming your registration.
If there are more than the permitted number of speakers for an item, you will be notified via email, however, your registration will still be noted. The Chairperson or Council will then rule as to which registered speakers may proceed to speak at the Public Forum.
Attending in person
If you are attending in person, the Council chambers is located at Ashfield Service Centre, 260 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, Level 6.
Attending online
If you have registered to speak online, you will receive the Zoom meeting details. Please do not share this with anyone else; only the registered speaker will be admitted to the Zoom meeting (note, Members of the public can also watch a live stream of the meeting via this web page).
You may join the Zoom meeting at 6.30pm. You must use the same name on Zoom as the name you registered to speak with, otherwise you will not be admitted into the meeting. Once you have concluded speaking, you will be removed from the Zoom meeting. You may continue to watch the Public Forum and Council meeting via live stream via this web page.
Privacy statement
By speaking at a Public Forum, members of the public agree to being recorded:
- Audio only if you attend in person, as the camera is positioned on the Councillors and Council staff
- Audio and Visual (if your camera is on) will be recorded for those speaking online
Speakers must ensure their speech to the Council is respectful and use appropriate language. A person who uses defamatory, discriminatory or offensive language may be exposed to liability for which Council takes no responsibility.
Members of the public, speaking at a Public Forum are also advised that their name and suburb will be listed against the agenda item they spoke about in the Public Forum record published on Council’s website.
Additional information
The following rules apply when addressing a public forum:
- Keep your speech to the point, the time allowed for each speaker is limited to three minutes. A bell will be rung when you have 30 seconds remaining.
- The maximum number of public speakers on each item is 3 'for' and 3 'against'. You will be emailed by Council officers if more than 3 registrations are received.
- When addressing the meeting you must speak to the chairperson.
- The chairperson may curtail public participation where the information being presented is considered repetitive or irrelevant.
- If you speak to an Item that is then deferred to another meeting, you cannot speak to the same item when it returns to Council.
For further detailed information about speaking at a public forum please read the code of meeting practice:
After submitting the online form, you will see an on-screen message confirming that your registration has been received.
If you submitted this form but didn't see a confirmation message, please contact Council's Business Paper Coordinator on 9392 5536 or councilmeetings@innerwest.nsw.gov.au to confirm your registration.
Inner West Council is committed to ensuring people with disability have equal opportunity to take part in public forums. At the Council Chambers located in Ashfield, there is a hearing loop service available to assist anyone with a hearing impairment.
If you have any other access or disability-related participation needs and wish to know more, call 9392 5536 or email councilmeetings@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
See the current meeting agenda items prior to completing the form: