Council & accountability · Waverley Council
Waverley councillor committee will open meetings to the public but bar public speakers
The all-councillor committee will meet generally on the fourth Tuesday of each month in Bondi Junction, with its first meeting scheduled for February 2027.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
Waverley residents will be able to watch a new all-councillor committee’s meetings and access its agendas and minutes, but they will not be allowed to address the committee, according to the unconfirmed meeting minutes. The committee has no delegation or decision-making power.
Waverley Council established the committee at its 20 October meeting to inform councillors, consider background information and receive periodic updates on matters relevant to Council. Councillor Keri Spooner was appointed deputy chair, and the first meeting is scheduled for February 2027.
Meetings will generally be held at 6.30pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Boot Factory in Spring Street, Bondi Junction. The resolution says meetings will be open to the public and livestreamed, with agendas and minutes published on Council’s website. The order of business will follow the mayoral minute.
Council will not consider briefing papers at Council or Council committee meetings. Separate councillor briefings can still be held when needed.
The meeting minutes record that amendments seeking to remove the public-meeting provisions and the restriction on briefing papers were lost. The main motion was then declared carried, although the minutes do not give a vote breakdown for the final resolution.
What deserves a closer look
The resolution creates public access to committee meetings and records while excluding public addresses.
The minutes distinguish between briefing papers at formal meetings and separate councillor briefings held as needed.
The minutes record that the final motion was carried but do not provide a vote breakdown for that resolution.
Questions for follow-up reporting
What matters will be placed on the committee's first February 2027 agenda?
How will Council publish the committee's livestreams and records in practice?
How frequently will councillor briefings be held outside committee meetings?
What happens next
Under the recorded decision, hold the first Councillor Committee meeting in February 2027.
Generally hold committee meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6.30pm at the Boot Factory, Spring Street, Bondi Junction.
Publish committee agendas and minutes on Council's website and livestream meetings.
Hold councillor briefings as needed in addition to committee meetings.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
The recorded decision establishes a Councillor Committee whose role is to inform councillors, consider background information and consider periodic updates on matters relevant to Council. It comprises all councillors and has no delegation or decision-making power.
DECISION That Council: 1. Establishes a Councillor Committee as a Council committee in accordance with clause 20.2 of the Code of Meeting Practice, with the following terms of reference: (a) The role of the Committee is to appropriately inform Councillors on matters relevant to their role, to consider background information on matters relevant to Council and to consider periodic updates on matters relevant to Council. (b) The Committee has no delegation or decision-making power. (c) The Committee is made up of all Councillors. (d) The Chair of the Committee is the Mayor unless they decline, in which case Council will appoint the Chair.
CM/6.1/26.10, decision, clause 1(a)–(d)
Open original minutes ↗Committee meetings are open to the public and livestreamed, agendas and minutes will be publicly available on Council's website, and members of the public will not be allowed to address meetings.
(e) The Deputy Chair is appointed by Council. (f) Meetings are open to the public and livestreamed, and the agendas and minutes will be publicly available on Council's website. (g) Members of the public will not be allowed to address meetings of the Committee, as the Committee has no decision-making power.
CM/6.1/26.10, decision, clause 1(f)–(g)
Open original minutes ↗An amendment to delete clauses 1(f) and 1(g) was declared lost. An amendment to delete clause 6 was also declared lost, and the main motion was then declared carried.
8. Holds Councillor briefings as needed in addition to meetings of the Councillor Committee. AMENDMENT 1 Mover: Cr Nemesh Seconder: Cr Stephenson That clauses 1(f) and 1(g) be deleted. THE AMENDMENT WAS PUT AND DECLARED LOST. AMENDMENT 2 Mover: Cr Spicer Seconder: Cr Townsend That clause 6 be deleted. THE AMENDMENT WAS PUT AND DECLARED LOST. THE MOTION WAS THEN PUT AND DECLARED CARRIED.
CM/6.1/26.10, amendments and motion outcome
Open original minutes ↗The record closes with a confirmation line dated 17 November 2026.
13. Meeting Closure THE MEETING CLOSED AT 11.47 PM. ............................................................. SIGNED AND CONFIRMED MAYOR 17 NOVEMBER 2026
Meeting closure and confirmation line
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from Waverley Council’s supplied minutes for the Council meeting held on 20 October 2026. The record is treated as unconfirmed: its closing confirmation line is dated 17 November 2026, after the source check on 26 October 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The unconfirmed minutes record that Council established an all-councillor committee with no delegation or decision-making power.
- Meetings will generally be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6.30pm at the Boot Factory, Spring Street, Bondi Junction.
- The first meeting is scheduled for February 2027, with Councillor Keri Spooner appointed deputy chair.
- Meetings are to be open and livestreamed, with agendas and minutes published online, but public addresses are not permitted.
- Amendments seeking to remove public-meeting provisions and the ban on briefing papers were declared lost; the main motion was declared carried.
Why it matters
- The committee creates a public window into councillor information-sharing meetings, but residents cannot address the committee and it cannot make Council decisions. Its role is to inform councillors rather than determine policy or approve projects.