Public’s Right to Attend Local Body Meetings

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 39, 16 February 1938, Page 6

Public’s Right to Attend Local Body Meetings

“ERRONEOUS IMPRESSION” DANNEVIRKE, Feb. 15. Reference to an impression that ratepayers are entitled to attend meetings of the borough council was made by the Mayor, Mr. E. Gibbard, when opening the public meeting addressed by Mr. L. Stein, chairman of the hospital board, last night. Although it was apparently the opinion of a fairly large number of people, the impression that they could attend meetings of the borough council was erroneous, said Mr. Gibbard. The Court of Appeal in England had Tuled that in a municipal borough neither the public, nor the burgesses, nor the ratepayers, nor reporters for the newspapers had the right to attend meetings of the borough council without the consent of the council, expressed or implied. This appeared to be the position in New Zealand. The mayor said he had mentioned this point in case some of the ratepayers of the town should arrive at a council meeting under the impression that they were entitled to be admitted.

After the meeting Mr. Gibbard told a reporter that since the decision of the Court of Appeal in this case (Zenby Corporation v. Mason) the law had been altered in England, probably as a result of the decisibn and under the Local Authorities (Admission of the Press) Act, 1908, reporters were entitled to attend meetings of most local authorities. No such alteration, however, had been made in New Zealand, so that the common law position was that there was no right of admission.