A BID to open Albury Council briefings to the public has succeeded after a debate which saw a former mayor compare a colleague to tennis brat Nick Kyrgios.
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Councillors voted 5-4 to alter the council’s draft code of meeting practice, a step which will allow the public and media to attend workshops.
The issue won new councillors Amanda Cohn and John Stuchbery, who queried why they spent three to four hours in a workshop but only an hour in a meeting.
But council veterans Graham Docksey and former mayor Henk van de Ven cautioned them against the move, noting it was a bugbear for councillor Darren Cameron.
“Kyrgios was playing in the US Open and...he said ‘if you let me win I’ll retire’ and I thought ‘for goodness sake let him win’,” Cr van de Ven said.
“Perhaps let Cr Cameron win this particular debate and he might shut up for a little while, because this is what he’s been after now for four years.”
Cr Cameron did not respond directly, but said the move was about “transparency and openness”.
“When we spend one hour at council meetings and 3½ hours in a secret workshop something is wrong,” he said.
“If there is nothing wrong then let the people and let the press come and have a look at those non-confidential briefings.”
The workshops would continue to be held alongside meetings.
Public feedback on the draft code will now be sought with the new workshop set-up likely to be introduced in 2017.
