Providing the community with multiple lines of access to information is at the centre of Townsville City Council’s operations, reflecting this International Access to Information Day’s theme “digital inclusion: connecting people to information”.
The day aims to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to information and the public sector’s responsibility to release information of public interest.
Business Services and Finance Committee chairperson Margie Ryder said Council had a longstanding commitment towards providing essential information to Townsville residents.
“Council runs a number of its own information sharing services like Townsville Dashboards, the Emergency Management and Disaster Dashboard, Have Your Say Townsville, ePlanning and livestreams of our Council meetings,” Cr Ryder said.
“We also work with external agencies like the Australian Government’s Open Data, the Queensland Audit Office and the Office of the Information Commissioner to maintain transparency with the community.
“These tools exist so residents can plainly and clearly see the work Council is doing on behalf of the community. By using platforms like Dashboards, ePlanning, Have Your Say Townsville or logging into Council meetings, the community is able to better understand the scope of work Council is undertaking for Townsville.
“We also have social media platforms like our Facebook pages which have more than 120,000 followers to keep our residents informed.
“As an organisation we have a focus on delivering real time digital information to provide our residents with information on the city, from animal management to water services and everything in between.”
