Former Albury mayor Stuart Baker under fire from Darren Cameron in debate over public access

The Labor councillor won a vote 7-2 on Monday night to have the sessions open to all unless a matter was deemed confidential.

Cr Baker and another past mayor Alice Glachan voted against the measure.

The former argued open briefings were stilted, underwhelming and not good for debate.

Cr Glachan compared council to the federal parliament where briefings were not public, asking "why should we have all our meetings open to the public?".

Cr Cameron said he was unsure of Cr Glachan's point, noting matters may still be subject of confidential talks.

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"If we need to hide things from the people who elect us we need to stop and have a real good look at ourselves," he said.

Cr Cameron cited Cr Baker's team how-to-vote flyer which stated "we will strive for community consultation and transparency on council decision-making".

"It's sad to me that people will go to an election promising transparency and only after two-and-half months will abandon that position," Cr Cameron said.

Cr Baker responded: "This is not about upholding promises....this is a different way of discussing things.

"For Cr Cameron to have a personal go at me is quite extraordinary and probably what I would expect."

Councillor David Thurley noted the negative public reaction after Wodonga Council opted to keep briefings closed, following a debate at a meeting last week.

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