Key points

• Residents at last week’s Yarra council meeting were upset to find a temporary barrier separating them from elected representatives and staff. 
• The council says a legal issue prompted the move.
• It has pledged not to use the barrier again.

A council meeting desk barricade that angered Yarra ratepayers last week will be removed, as officials insist it was never intended to drive a wedge between councillors and their community.

However, the decision to construct the barrier in the Richmond Town Hall chamber to separate councillors and staff from the public, upset residents who said it is inappropriate to have allowed a private dispute to encroach on council proceedings.

A barrier was installed at a City of Yarra council meeting on August 23.Credit:Adam Promnitz

Dubbed the “Great Wall of Yarra”, the barrier was erected after an interim personal safety intervention order was made by a resident against a person associated with the council. Further details of the order, handed down by a magistrates’ court earlier this year and set to be contested at a later date, cannot be revealed for legal reasons.

Yarra City Council on Wednesday said the barrier was installed in the interests of safety but did not elaborate. A spokesperson has now assured residents it won’t be used again.

“The layout at Tuesday night’s council meeting was implemented at very short notice, in response to highly unique circumstances which council is unable to comment on further due to privacy reasons,” the Yarra spokesperson said.

Yarra Residents Collective president Adam Promnitz slammed the council for exercising “incredibly poor judgment”.

Yarra Residents Collective co-founder Adam Promnitz with two-year-old Xavier and other residents during a protest outside the town hall over the wall of desks.Credit:Jason South

“[The matter] had nothing to do with the council and certainly nothing that should have been subjected on the wider community, who were deeply offended by this,” Promnitz said.

“If there was a legitimate security threat, wouldn’t council procedure be to call police or hire security guards?”

Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly, who queried the desk barricade during the meeting when it was used, said it was “a massive public relations disaster” for a council already dealing with residents frustrated over new restrictions on public participation at council meetings.

Promnitz, who was at Tuesday’s meeting to oppose a new 24-hour deadline on residents lodging questions and reduction in the number of questions residents can ask at meetings, felt the barrier fed an “us and them” mentality between the council and ratepayers.

The Yarra Council spokesperson said the organisation welcomed and encouraged public participation at meetings.

“We regret the change in meeting room layout implied anything to the contrary,” they said. “Our intent was never for this to be seen as a symbolic barrier between council and its community.”

Streets Alive Yarra president Jeremy Lawrence did not have an issue with the barrier, believing it sent a signal to remain respectful in the chamber. By showing a safe working environment, he said it was possible a more diverse field of candidates would be encouraged to stand in council elections.

The extendable barrier in use at a Darebin council meeting.

Council meetings at neighbouring municipality Darebin have a red-and-white metal extendable partition between councillors and the public gallery at Preston City Hall.

While there are often gaps in the barrier, Darebin Residents Group administrator Tim Holdsworth said he found it “uncomfortable and disrespectful.”

“We’re supposed to be a team working towards the betterment of the community, but this makes it very clear there’s us on one side and them on the other,” Holdsworth said.

Darebin City Council chief executive Rachel Ollivier said the partition helped indicate councillor and ratepayer seating areas and ensure social distancing.

“The partition has been in place at meetings since December 2021 at the return of in-person meetings following the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions,” Ollivier said. “We are currently reassessing our COVID measures for council meetings.”

Sue Wilkinson, who joined Yarra City Council as chief executive in June, previously served in the same role at Darebin City Council. Wilkinson said she had no involvement in the meeting setup at Darebin. “This was handled at an officer level,” she said.

Ratepayers Victoria vice-president Dean Hurlston opposed the installation of barriers at council meetings.

“Local government is meant to be the closest level of government to the people. All a barrier does is enforce and highlight that the executive wants to be elite and in an ivory tower. I find it absurd.”

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