The Rangitīkei District Council has changed tack on holding council committee meetings behind closed doors during Alert level 2 - a move a law professor said was likely unlawful.
The council informed the Chronicle last week that a reporter would not be able to attend Thursday's finance and performance committee and full council meetings, due to alert level 2 restrictions.
Both Rangitīkei full council and council committee meetings are currently being held predominantly via Zoom due to the small size of the council chamber, with only a few elected officials attending the meeting in person.
As part of those restrictions, both the media and the public are prohibited from watching the meetings in-person, with the council instead live-streaming the meeting of the full council to social media.
But last week's Finance and Performance Committee was planned to be held behind closed doors, without a live stream or a recording of the meeting to be made public.