Attending a meeting or hearing

photo of council chambers with people sitting at the seats.

All meetings of Council and its Committees are held in the Council Chambers, Te Iwitahi, 9 Rust Avenue, Whangārei. For locations of Hearings, please check the table in the Meeting and hearing dates section below.

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.

Live stream and recorded videos

We recommend members of the public wishing to attend Council meetings, watch the live stream on our YouTube channel. Some features on YouTube may require you to sign-in.

YouTube live videos (youtube.com)

YouTube playlist of 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 2025:

Strategy, Planning and Development Committee: third Thursday of each month - 9:00am
Community Development: third Thursday of each month - 10:00am
Infrastructure Committee: third Thursday of each month - 11:30am
Council: fourth Thursday of each month - 9:00am
Finance Committee: fourth Thursday of each month - 1:30pm
Council Briefing: second Thursday and fourth Wednesday of each month - 9:00am
Council Workshop: second Thursday and fourth Wednesday of each month - 11:00am
Risk and Audit Committee: quarterly meetings - 9:00am
Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Committee: first Tuesday of each month - 9:00am Council Chambers
Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Hui: third Wednesday of every second month - 9:00am Marae

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

Council meeting calendar 2025(PDF, 72KB)

Upcoming Council meetings and hearings 2025

View agendas and minutes

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

Meeting or hearing	Date and Time
Council	Tuesday 29 April at 9:00am
Finance Committee	Tuesday 29 April at 1:30pm
Council Briefing / Airport Noise Management	Tuesday 29 April at 4:30pm
Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Committee	Tuesday 6 May at 9:00am
Exemptions and Objections Committee	Tuesday 6 May at 1:00pm
Council Briefing All Council business	Wednesday 7 May at 9:00am
Civic Honours Selection Committee (Interested parties should note: It is the intention of Council that this meeting be held in public excluded.)	Wednesday 7 May at 1:00pm
Council Submission hearings – Annual Plan 2025-26 (Depending on the volume of submissions received, if only one day is required, the meeting will take place on Tuesday 13 May – please check back here for confirmation.)	Monday 12 May / Tuesday 13 May at 9:00am
Strategy, Planning and Development Committee	Thursday 15 May at 9:00am
Community Development Committee	Thursday 15 May at 10:00am
Infrastructure Committee	Thursday 15 May at 11:30am
Council Briefing Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Standing Committee Terms of Reference	Tuesday 20 May at 9:00am
Council	Thursday 22 May at 9:00am
Finance Committee	Thursday 22 May at 1:30pm
Council Briefing Annual Plan 2025-26 Issues and Options	Tuesday 27 May at 9:00am
Chief Executive Review Committee (Interested parties should note: It is the intention of Council that this meeting be held in public excluded.)	Tuesday 27 May at 11:00am
Council Briefing All Council business	Wednesday 28 May at 9:00am

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.

Speaking at Public Forum

If you wish to speak at a public forum, please complete the application form to speak at Public Forum.

Download and save a copy of the application to your computer first.
Application form to speak at public forum(PDF, 122KB)
You can then either:

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

If you have any questions, please contact one of our Democracy Advisers on 09 430 4200.

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, 811KB)

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, 868KB)