Attending a meeting or hearing

Council and committees meet on a recurring schedule:

• Strategy, Planning and Development Committee: third Thursday of each month - 9:00am
• Community Development: third Thursday of each month - 10:00am
• Infrastructure Committee: third Thursday of each month - 11:30am
• Council: fourth Thursday of each month - 9:00am
• Finance Committee: fourth Wednesday of each month - 9:00am 
• Risk and Audit Committee: quarterly meetings - 9:00am
• Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Committee: first Tuesday of each month - 9:00am Council Chambers
• Te Kārearea Strategic Partnership Hui: third Wednesday of every second month - 9:00am Marae
• Council Briefing: second and fourth Tuesday of each month - 9:00am
• Council Workshop: second and fourth Tuesday of each month - 11:00am.

To view committee meeting times, please download the full calendar:

Council meeting schedule 2026(PDF, 123KB)

Please refer to the upcoming Council meetings and hearings list below for changes to the meeting schedule. 

Upcoming Council meetings and hearings

View agendas and minutes

The public is notified of the following meetings of Council and hearings: 

The agenda and reports will be available on this website prior to the meeting.

Agendas and minutes

Meeting dates, times and topics may change and meetings may be cancelled or added. Changes are published on this page. For confirmation, please contact us.

Contact us

A period of 30 minutes is set aside for a public forum at the commencement of each monthly Council meeting. Public forums enable members of the public to bring items to the attention of Council. 

Topics must fall within the mandate or control of Council and must be relevant to the business of Council or the District. 

The time allowed for each speaker is five minutes (excluding questions). 

If you wish to speak at a public forum, please complete the application form.

1. Download and save a copy of the application to your computer first.

   Application form to speak at public forum(PDF, 144KB)

2. You can then either:

• print it, fill it in and send or deliver it to us; or
• fill it out on your computer, save it and attach it to an email to us.

Applications to speak at a public forum must be received at least two clear working days before the meeting.

If you have any questions, please contact one of our Democracy Advisers:

Phone: 09 430 4200

A response to the speaker will be provided in the following month's Council agenda.

A petition is a document addressed to Council or one of its committees, signed by at least 20 signatories, asking Council or a committee to act on something or investigate an issue of concern. 

The subject matter of a petition must fall within the mandate or control of Council and be relevant to the business of Council or the District, or, if the petition is presented to a committee, fall within the terms of reference of the committee. 

A petitioner who presents a petition at a Council or committee meeting may speak for up to five minutes (excluding questions) about the petition. 

A petition must: 

• be written in English or te reo Māori or given in New Zealand Sign Language 
• contain at least 20 signatures and consist of fewer than 150 words (not including signatories)
• state the purpose of the petition to Council, including the grounds or reasons for the petition - this can help people understand what you are asking them to sign 
• not be disrespectful, use offensive language, or include malicious, inaccurate or misleading statements.

An example template for a petition is provided below: 

Petition template(PDF, 197KB)

Petitions must be received at least five clear working days before the meeting. 

Rules for signatures on petitions 

• Every page with signatures must have the statement of petition wording on it to show that people know what they are signing. 
• Signatures must include the person's full name and physical address alongside their signature. 
• Unless incapacitated, a person must sign a petition personally (a person signing on behalf of a person incapacitated must state this fact beside the signature).
• Signatures must be original (not photocopied, faxed, scanned, pasted or otherwise transferred onto sheets of the petition).

Petitions received by Council are presented at a Council or committee meeting and are public documents. The names of petitioners and signatories will be publicly available. Contact details of petitioners and signatories, such as telephone numbers and email addresses, will be withheld and not made publicly available.  

Council holds workshops regularly throughout the year that enable councillors to discuss and debate matters involving complex information in a less structured environment than a formal meeting.

No decisions are made at these workshops and, as such, the requirements of LGOIMA regarding public notification and access to agendas and minutes do not apply.

The public are unable to attend the workshops, and the agendas and minutes are not available to the public.

Council holds briefings throughout the year to enable councillors to find out more information and seek clarification on specific, often complex, matters. This gives councillors the opportunity to discuss these matters in depth outside of a formal meeting situation to gain greater understanding and clarity.

No decisions are made at these briefings and, as such, the requirements of LGOIMA regarding public notification and access to agendas and minutes do not apply; however these documents are made available to the public.

The public are able to attend briefings. 

The Elected Members' Code of Conduct provides guidelines for the expected standards of behaviour by the mayor and councillors.

Elected Members' Code of Conduct(PDF, 811KB)

Standing orders contain rules for the conduct of the proceedings of local authorities, committees, subcommittees and subordinate decision-making bodies, and local and community boards.

Their purpose is to enable local authorities to exercise their decision-making responsibilities in a transparent, inclusive and lawful manner.

Standing orders(PDF, 2MB)