Cessnock City Council will maintain its twice-a-month meeting structure, for now at least, after a notice of motion put forward by councillor Bryce Gibson was turned down.
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Cr. Gibson moved at Wednesday night’s meeting that council prepare a report on the pros and cons of changing its code of meeting practice to hold only one council meeting per month.
Debate quickly became heated with Cr. Morgan Campbell calling the motion “baffling” and suggesting that Cr. Gibson might be “cracking under pressure” and making excuses for councillors to attend less meetings.
“How does less meetings make you more accountable,” Cr. Campbell said.
“This will make the decision-making process even longer.
“It is counterproductive and will cause greater headaches for people trying to build things in this town.”
Cr. Gibson defended his motion, arguing that it was time to “move Cessnock Council into the 21st century” and adapt stronger leadership roles.
Cr. Cordelia Troy said that the motion wasn’t that big of a deal and that Cr. Gibson was only asking for a report, calling Cr. Campbell’s comments “a load of rubbish”.
“Let’s see if it is detrimental,” she said.
“If the report comes back and it is no good, we will turf it out.
“All we are asking for here is an opportunity for review.”
