Waitematā Local Board workshops have been open online to the public since early May 2024 and offer an opportunity to gain insights and understanding into the work it does.
A local board workshop is a non-decision-making meeting, focused on giving board members updates and information about projects in the board’s work programme, covering topics like events, projects, funding and asset renewals.
Watching these workshops can help give some context to the board’s decisions at business meetings as well as a view of what’s happening and coming up on the board’s work programmes.
“The board is committed to being transparent to our community, and we encourage people to observe workshop items that interest them,” says board chair Genevieve Sage.
There are some protocols for joining workshop meetings.
Public online should keep their cameras and microphones turned off and are not permitted to use the chat function.
This is to avoid elected members and council officers being distracted during the workshop. People not following this etiquette will be removed online.
“We invite our constituents to let us know their opinions on local matters so that we can make decisions which are informed by the views of the community,” says Genevieve.
“While workshops are not the right time for public input, there are plenty of ways you can reach us to share your thoughts.”
If something comes up in the workshop that you would like to speak to the board further about, here are the appropriate ways to do this:
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Email the local board inbox: waitematalocalboard@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
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Contact the local board members, a full list of their contact details can be found here.
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Organise to present to the board at its next ordinary business meeting, either with a 10-minute deputation (which needs to be arranged more than five working days before the business meeting), or with a 5-minute public forum item which can be organised up until the start of the meeting.
Waitematā Local Board workshops take place most Tuesdays. A brief agenda will be shared on our Facebook page in advance.
If any of the items interest you, email us to get the Microsoft Teams link to observe.
Some other local boards already hold open workshops and others are considering whether to open their workshops. Each board will consider its own situation (in terms of the board’s needs, the desires of its communities and the technological constraints of the local board office) when making its decision.
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