✨ Standing Orders for Meeting Conduct
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 9 — 30 JANUARY 2017
Removal From Meeting
3.4.8 A member of the police, or a council staff member, may, at the chairperson’s request, remove or exclude a member from a meeting.
3.4.9 This standing order will apply where the chairperson has ruled that the member should leave the meeting and the member has refused or failed to do so; or has left the meeting, then attempted to re-enter it without the chairperson’s permission.
[cl. 16(2), Schedule 7, LGA]
3.5 Points of Order
Members May Raise Points of Order
3.5.1 Any member may raise a point of order when they believe these standing orders have been breached. When a point of order is raised, the member who was previously speaking must stop speaking and sit down (if standing).
Subjects for Points of Order
3.5.2 A member who is raising a point of order must state precisely what its subject is. Points of order may be raised for the following subjects:
a. disorder: bringing disorder to the attention of the chairperson;
b. language: use of disrespectful, offensive or malicious language;
c. irrelevance: the topic being discussed is not the matter currently before the meeting;
d. misrepresentation: misrepresentation of any statement made by a member or by an officer or council employee;
e. breach of standing order: the breach of any standing order while also specifying which standing order is subject to the breach; and
f. record words: a request that the minutes record the words objected to.Contradictions
3.5.3 Expressing a difference of opinion or contradicting a statement by a previous speaker does not constitute a point of order.
Point of Order During Division
3.5.4 A member may not raise a point of order during a division, except with the permission of the chairperson.
Chairperson’s Decision on Points of Order
3.5.5 The chairperson may decide a point of order immediately after it has been raised, or may choose to hear further argument about the point before deciding. The chairperson’s ruling on any point of order is not open to any discussion and is final.
3.5.6 If a member questions a ruling, the chairperson is to seek advice and to refer to these standing orders on the ruling in question, but their ruling is always final.
3.6 Voting
Decisions to be Decided by Majority of Votes
3.6.1 The acts of a council must be done and the questions before the council must be decided by vote and by the majority of quorum members that are present and voting.
Voting by Chairperson
3.6.2 The chairperson or other person presiding at any meeting shall have a deliberative vote and, in case of equality of votes, shall have a casting vote.
Members May Abstain
3.6.3 Any member may abstain from voting and shall have their abstention recorded in the minutes where requested.
Method of Voting
3.6.4 Two voting systems have been described under appointments by the council (see 1.3.9–13 above). The council or committee must decide to use one of these voting systems and adopt the following approach to voting at meetings:
a. the chairperson, in putting the motion, shall call for an expression of opinion on the voices or take a show ofNext Page →
NZ Gazette 2017, No 9
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
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Standing Orders for Rules for the Conduct of Meetings
(continued from previous page)
🏛️ Governance & Central Administration30 January 2017
Standing Orders, Meeting Conduct, Chairperson, Quorum, Public Attendance, Member's Right to Speak, Chairperson's Report, Chairperson's Recommendations, Point of Order, Determining Vote, Disrespect, Retractions, Apologies, Disorderly Conduct, Contempt