Introduction. Under this Chapter, meetings of the council and its committees are required, as a general rule, to be open to the public.

The Chapter provides for public access to information held by councils.

Apart from the provisions of this Chapter, members of the public may influence council decisions concerning matters such as the levels of rates and charges, the terms of management plans, the granting of development consents, etc (which are dealt with in later Chapters) by making submissions, including comments on or objections to proposals relating to those matters.

The Chapter also enables the council to ascertain the views of the local community on various matters through 2 types of polls which may be conducted in the area. A summary of these polls is contained in Part 3 of this Chapter.