Attending a meeting or hearing

All meetings of Council and its Committees are held in the Council Chambers, Forum North, Rust Avenue, Whangārei.

Public engagement and participation in council decision making is welcomed and encouraged. The public gallery (Council Chambers) is open to those who wish to attend public meetings.

However, due to number restrictions on our approved Fire and Evacuation scheme at Forum North, there are limits on the number of members of the public able to physically attend council meetings in the Chamber. Attendance is managed on a first come, first served basis.

Live stream and recorded videos

We recommend members of the public wishing to attend Council meetings, watch the live stream on our Facebook page. 

Our Facebook (live videos) (facebook.com, may require sign-in for some features)

Our YouTube (recorded videos) (youtube.com)

Members of the public can't take part in the discussion but do have an opportunity to speak during public forum at the monthly meeting of Council.

Meeting and hearing dates

Council and committees meet on a recurring schedule in 2023:

  • Community Development: 3rd Thursday of each month – 11:00am
  • Council: 4th Thursday of each month – 9:00am
  • Council Briefing (Infrastructure business): 2nd Wednesday of each month – 10:30am (Exceptions are 9 February, 6 June and 14 December)
  • Council briefings and workshops: ad hoc, will be notified on this webpage
  • Finance committee: 1st Wednesday of each month – 9:00am
  • Infrastructure Committee: 2nd Thursday of each month – 9:00am
  • Risk and Audit Committee:quarterly meetings
  • Strategy, Planning and Development Committee: 3rd Thursday of each month – 9:00am
  • Te Karearea Strategic Partnership Committee / Hui: scheduled 3rd Wednesdays

To view committee meeting times, please download the full calendar:

Council meeting calendar 2023(PDF, 161KB)

Upcoming Council meetings and hearings 2023

The public is notified of the following meetings of Council and hearings: 

Meeting or hearing Date and time

Council Briefing

  • Report on Whangarei District Growth Predictions
  • Update Operations Request System

Tuesday 23 May at 11:00am

Council Briefing

  • Annual Plan Issues and Options

Wednesday 24 May at 09:00am

Council

Thursday 25 May at 09:00am

Council Briefing

  • Bylaws update
  • Code of Conduct Review

Tuesday 30 May at 09:00am

Chief Executive Review Committee (Venue Mayor’s Office) 

Interested parties should note it is intended that this meeting will be held in public excluded.

Wednesday 31 May at 11:00am

Council

  • Annual Plan – Deliberations

Tuesday 6 June at 09:00am

Finance Committee

Wednesday 7 June at 09:00am

Risk and Audit Committee

Wednesday 7 June at 11:00am

Council Briefing

  • Draft Waste Minimisation and Management Plan – review submissions

Wednesday 7 June at 01:00pm

Infrastructure Committee

Thursday 8 June at 09:00am

Council Briefing

  • Infrastructure business

Thursday 8 June at 11:00am

Council

  • Trade Waste Bylaw – deliberations

Wednesday 14 June at 10:00am

Strategy, Planning and Development Committee

Thursday 15 June at 09:00am

Community Development Committee

Thursday 15 June at 11:00am

Te Karearea Strategic Partnership Hui
(Tau Henare Marae)

Wednesday 21 June at 09:00am

Council

Thursday 22 June at 09:00am

Council Briefing

  • Climate change
  • Draft Insurance Strategy

Tuesday 27 June at 09:00am

Council Briefing

  • Infrastructure business

Wednesday 28 June at 09:00am

Council
Various topics including:

  • Waste Minimisation Plan 
  • Annual Plan adoption

Thursday 29 June at 09:00am

The agenda and reports will be available on this website prior to the meeting.

Agendas and minutes

Meeting dates, times and topics may change and meetings may be cancelled or added. Changes are published on this page. For confirmation, please contact us.

Contact us

Speaking at Public Forum

If you wish to speak at public forum, please contact our Senior Democracy Adviser, phone 09 430 4200 before making an application.

Download and save a copy of the application to your computer first. You can then either:

  • print it, fill it and send or deliver it to us; or
  • fill it out on your computer and save it before attaching it to an email to us.

Application form to speak at public forum(PDF, 63KB)

Council workshops

Council holds workshops regularly throughout the year which enable councillors to discuss and debate matters involving complex information in a less structured environment than a formal meeting.

No decisions are made at these workshops and as such the requirements of LGOIMA regarding public notification and access to agendas and minutes do not apply. The public are unable to attend workshops.

Council Briefings

Council holds briefings throughout the year to enable councillors to find out more information and seek clarification on specific, often complex, matters. This gives councillors the opportunity to discuss these matters in depth outside of a formal meeting situation to gain greater understanding and clarity.

No decisions are made at these briefings and as such the requirements of LGOIMA regarding public notification and access to programmes and minutes do not apply; however these documents are made available to the public.

The public are able to attend briefings. 

Code of Conduct

The Elected Members' Code of Conduct provides guidelines for the expected standards of behaviour by the mayor and councillors.

Elected Members' Code of Conduct(PDF, 458KB)

Standing orders

Standing orders contain rules for the conduct of the proceedings of local authorities, committees, subcommittees and subordinate decision-making bodies, and local and community boards.

Their purpose is to enable local authorities to exercise their decision-making responsibilities in a transparent, inclusive and lawful manner.

Standing orders(PDF, 849KB)

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