A Moree Plains Shire councillor livestreamed her own removal by police after refusing to stop filming or leave a council meeting in northern New South Wales.
Kelly James was ordered to end the Facebook livestream because it breached the Moree Plains Shire Council’s Code of Meeting Practice. The council then voted to expel her, but the meeting was adjourned for about 45 minutes when she declined to leave.
James said she was recording the proceedings because she believed the official minutes had previously been altered.
“I am doing it for my own protection, every time I leave this meeting the contents of the minutes change,” she said during the livestream.
She also directed her camera towards a security guard hired for the meeting and warned him not to touch her.
“I am telling you now bud, if you touch me you will be hurt, so don’t,” James said. “I am sick of this and you know yourself the minutes get altered because it has been done several times and I have proof, and I am sick of providing proof.”
Police arrived at the council chambers about 20 minutes later. James told officers that their attendance had been planned in advance, saying: “Them calling you to come remove me was already orchestrated before I got out of bed this morning.”
She continued filming as she was escorted from the building, directing further criticism at New South Wales Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig and saying she expected to be removed from a subsequent meeting as well.
In a statement, the council said James had been expelled from the October 15 ordinary meeting after refusing to make an “unreserved apology” for comments found to have imputed an improper motive to council staff.
It said she had been directed to stop livestreaming immediately before her expulsion, in breach of the council’s meeting rules. The security guard had been engaged to protect staff, councillors and members of the public, at a cost of 55 Australian dollars an hour, the council said.
James later said she had started filming because a security guard was already present and she was concerned about the accuracy of meeting records. She also questioned who had authorised the security, why it was considered necessary and what it had cost ratepayers.
She alleged that councillors were treated inconsistently during meetings, claiming she was made to wait before speaking and then limited to one question while another councillor had been allowed to speak without raising her hand.
“I accept scrutiny of my language and conduct and expect the same standard to apply to everyone involved,” James said when asked whether she considered her actions professional.
The council said this was the fifth time James had been expelled from a meeting this year. It also said she had been censured twice in 2026.
It rejected her concerns about the minutes, saying draft records were presented at the following meeting, where councillors could identify inaccuracies and seek amendments in open council.
The Office of Local Government said councillors were expected to maintain standards of conduct and decorum, adding that there was no place for behaviour that undermined the proper functioning of a council or public confidence in local government.
