Members of the public are welcome to attend council meetings. Meetings are usually held in Council Chambers on Level 2 of the Civic Building , 838-842 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt.
The Council and Committee meeting schedule has the latest information about our meetings. Council meetings are also livestreamed on our YouTube channel. Council meetings are open to the public, however there may be some items withheld from public discussion, these will be listed under public excluded business on the agenda alongside the specific grounds for the passing of the resolution.
If you wish to attend a council meeting, please allow time to sign into the Civic Building and be seated in Chambers 10 minutes before the meeting starts.
If you have any accessibility needs please Contact us.
Request to speak at a meeting
Time is provided for public participation where permitted under Standing Orders. To help meetings run efficiently and fairly, anyone wishing to speak is encouraged to contact Council by midday before the meeting.
Requests to speak should include:
- your name,
- if you are speaking on behalf of an organisation,
- the topic you wish to speak about, and
- how it relates to an item on the agenda or the Committee’s terms of reference.
The Chair has discretion to approve requests to speak, taking into account:
- whether the matter is within the scope of the meeting or agenda,
- the relevance of the matter to Council decision-making, and
- available time.
Council may decline requests that fall outside the Committee’s role or that are more appropriately dealt with through other Council processes.
Members of the public are allowed five minutes to speak and answer any questions from elected members. When it is your time to speak, the Chair will call you up to the table for you to address the meeting. A bell will sound after four minutes and again at five minutes to indicate that your time has expired.
Members of the public are allowed five minutes to speak and may, with the Chair’s permission, answer clarifying questions from elected members.
Questions from elected members are to be confined to obtaining information or clarification on matters raised by a speaker. It is important not to interrupt the Chair or members when they are speaking. Once you have finished speaking, please return to your seat where you can continue to observe the meeting. You are welcome to leave the meeting at any time, but the Chair will announce when the meeting closes and you will be asked to leave Chambers if there is public excluded business on the agenda.
You are welcome to provide a presentation, hand outs or your speaking notes. If you have a presentation that you would like displayed while you speak, it is preferable for you to email it to Governance@uhcc.govt.nz by midday before the meeting, this will allow enough time for your presentation to be uploaded and displayed in Council Chambers. If you have material that you would like handed out elected members, please bring 12 copies to the meeting and give these to a member of the Governance team at least 10 minutes before the start of the meeting. The Central Library has printing, photocopying and scanning facilities available to visitors. If you are unable to attend the meeting you may ask someone else to speak or present on your behalf.
Please note, that any material presented to the meeting will become part of the public record of the meeting and attached to the minutes. The minutes of the meeting, are the official public record and may contain your name, the item you spoke to, and any material that you have presented.
Public forum gives members of the community an opportunity to raise matters of concern or interest with elected members.
Council meetings are where elected members make decisions on behalf of the community. Public forum is not a question-and-answer session, and elected members are not required to provide answers to questions raised during this part of the meeting.
Elected members may ask questions only to clarify what has been said, so they understand the issue being raised.
Matters raised during public forum may be noted by Council, referred to officers for consideration, or considered as part of future work or reports where appropriate. Council is not required to provide a written response or report back on matters raised during public forum.
What public forum is for
Public forum is designed to allow members of the community to:
- Raise concerns about Council decisions, processes, or transparency
- Share community perspectives or impacts
- Bring issues to the attention of elected members
- Express views on matters of public interest
What public forum is not
Public forum is not a question-and-answer session. While elected members may ask questions to clarify what has been raised, they are not required to provide answers to questions during the meeting.
Public forum is not intended for:
- Requesting specific documents, records, or invoices
- Seeking detailed or technical explanations
- Asking questions that require investigation or research
- Raising individual service issues (such as rubbish collection, drainage, roads, or noise)
Elected members may ask questions only to clarify what has been said, so they understand the issue being raised.
What happens after a question is raised
Matters raised during public forum may be:
- Noted by Council
- Referred to officers for consideration
- Considered as part of future work or reports, where appropriate
Council is not required to provide a written response or report back on matters raised during public forum.
If you are seeking information, documents, or action on a specific issue, the most effective way to do this is to contact Council directly.
This ensures your request is logged, tracked, and responded to appropriately.
askus@uhcc.govt.nz, or via the Contact Us section of the Council website.
Public forums are a defined period of time, usually at the start of an ordinary meeting, which, at the discretion of a meeting, is put aside for the purpose of public input.
In the case of a committee or subcommittee any issue, idea or matter raised in the public forum must fall within the terms of reference of that body.
A period of up to 30 minutes, or such longer time as the meeting may determine, will be available for the public forum at each scheduled local authority meeting which is open to the public. Each speaker during the public forum section of a meeting may speak for up to five minutes. No more than two speakers can speak on behalf of an organisation.
Where the number of speakers presenting in the public forum exceeds 6 in total, the Chairperson has discretion to restrict the speaking time permitted for all presenters.
The Chairperson has the discretion to decline to hear a speaker or to terminate a presentation at any time where:
- A speaker is repeating views presented by an earlier speaker at the same public forum;
- The speaker is criticising elected members and/or staff;
- The speaker is being repetitious, disrespectful or offensive;
- The speaker has previously spoken on the same issue;
- The matter is subject to legal proceedings; and
- The matter is subject to a hearing, including the hearing of submissions where the local authority or committee sits in a quasi-judicial capacity.
At the conclusion of the presentation, with the permission of the Chairperson, elected members may ask questions of speakers. Questions are to be confined to obtaining information or clarification on matters raised by the speaker.
Following the public forum no debate or decisions will be made at the meeting on issues raised during the forum unless related to items already on the agenda.
Governance Advisors support the meeting to ensure the democratic process is followed. This includes:
- Acting as a liaison between members of the public attending the meeting and the chairperson if required
- Advising the chair on meeting procedures and recording the decisions
- Acting as a channel of communication between the reporting staff member and the chairperson
- Ensuring any technology requirements are met
If you have any questions or comments about Council meetings please email the governance team Governance@uhcc.govt.nz.