Notice of council meeting change

Published on 18 March 2020

The City of Launceston will shift locations for its council meetings from tomorrow in the wake of the current coronavirus pandemic.

From tomorrow, ordinary Council meetings will be held in the Town Hall Reception room, rather than the Council Chamber to allow for social distancing provisions.

Mayor Albert van Zetten said the decision was made in the interest of public health and safety concerns.

"Obviously as a Council we need to be vigilant at this time, and giving members of the public, the Councillors and Council staff the space to maintain those social distancing measures underpins this decision," Mayor van Zetten said.

In moving to the new location, there will be a number of noticeable changes for regular visitors to the Council meetings.

They include:

• Councillor seating has been arranged to ensure social distancing measures are in place.

• Community seating has also be arranged to ensure social distancing.

• An audio system will not be in place for tomorrow's meeting, and consequently a live audio stream will not be available.

"Unfortunately the Council's existing recording and streaming equipment cannot be moved from its location in the Chamber," Mayor van Zetten said.

"We are working through the logistics that will enable us to hopefully have a temporary system in place for future meetings to a level that is acceptable."