A circular sent to councils from the Office of Local Government on Wednesday, outlined amendments to the Local Government Act allowing councils to meet remotely, however, Armidale Regional Council Mayor Simon Murray was doubtful it would work in many regional areas.
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"We are flat out running phone meetings because they drop out. This is a requirement for audio-visual, and we cannot do that at the moment," he said.
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"While Armidale's got the best NBN, two of us do not live in Armidale itself, and we've got council staff who are out of town. They're on Sky Muster, and it won't handle an audio-visual connection very well.
"And if you think about places like Moree, they would be in a worse position."
Councillors are required to attend meetings in person, putting them in breach of the recent public health order banning indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.
New, temporary rules were introduced after a number of councils expressed their concerns about holding meetings in the current risk climate, and they will be reviewed after six months.
Cr Murray said Armidale council was drafting up a letter to the Minister, who could approve other arrangements, if audio-visual links were not practical.
He said holding an audio meeting held its own problems. A phone hookup meant the meeting was no longer public, and raised problems surrounding voting, which was usually done with a show of hands.
