Further CEO Graham claims include that an Elected Representative could adequately perform staff-interface, representative and debating round the Council table functions by remote zoom having been singularly excluded from Council Offices. The wholly unsatisfactory business of conducting just Council meetings by zoom was proved during lock-down with ongoing technical glitches, speaker order disputes, and inability to read the room and supplementary information, all made worse by Mayoral abuse of his zoom mute button facility.

I walked masked past the Town Hall security guards half an hour in advance of yesterday’s full Council meeting of 7^th December scheduled for 1pm in the Edinburgh Room as offered to CEO Graham for good distancing and sat preparing for the meeting at my usual place as is my Elected Representative duty and right. I explained this to a security guard who came and asked me to leave the building, quoting him the latest Ministry of Health advice of 17/11/2021 that “The legislation will be very clear that access to essential services, including healthcare services, cannot be restricted based on vaccination status.” and that Local Government was an essential service.

When nobody else turned up for yesterday’s meeting, I sent the following email to the CEO questioning why I had not been advised of a meeting cancellation or change of venue, and today I have still not had an answer. I was subsequently served with a Trespass Notice signed by the CEO.

From: Lee Vandervis <lee@vandervision.co.nz>
Date: Tuesday, 7 December 2021 at 2:02 PM
To: Sandy Graham <Sandy.Graham@dcc.govt.nz>
Cc: Clare Sullivan <clare.sullivan@dcc.govt.nz>
Subject: Full Council Meeting cancellation or change of venue?

Dear Chief Executive Office Graham,

I have attended the full Council meeting of 7th December as scheduled in the Edinburgh Room at the allotted time of 1pm, as is my right and duty as an elected representative, but the time now is 1.55pm and the meeting has not proceeded as required.

A presumably DCC-hired security guard ex Allied Security came to the Edinburgh Room where I have been seated as usual and told me that I was obliged to leave the building because I had not shown proof of current vaccination.

I informed him as I have previously advised you by email, that “our NZ Ministry of Health has advised on 17/11/2021 that “When there is high COVID-19 vaccine coverage (i.e., above 80 percent of eligible people are fully vaccinated), transmission is more likely to occur from a vaccinated than an unvaccinated individual.”

Further our MoH in the same document says:

“The legislation will be very clear that access to essential services, including healthcare services, cannot be restricted based on vaccination status.”

Was today’s full meeting cancelled or changed to another venue?, and if so on whose authority?, and why was I as an elected representative not advised of any venue change or cancellation?
I note that LGOIMA 46 (1) as referenced in our Standing Orders requires you to ensure that the date, time and place of a public Council meeting are to be publicly notified.

Looking forward to your explanation of this apparent breach of required meeting procedure.

Regards,

Cr. Lee Vandervis