This is exciting news for the Local Government sector, especially regional and rural councils where councillors may live hours away from their council chambers.
What’s especially great is the acknowledgement that “Councils will now have the option to allow councillors to be present for official meetings by audio-visual link if they can’t attend in person because of illness, disability, caring and work responsibilities or other reasons agreed to by council.“
The extra flexibility will be appreciated by those councillors who are serious about carrying out their civic duties and attending meetings.