Questions Without Notice allows councillors, the press, and members of the public a maximum of three minutes to ask questions of anyone in the council chambers following a council meeting.

The decision to remove Questions Without Notice from the agenda came following advice from the Department of Local Government that it was in conflict with the Local Government Act.

The department released an updated Meetings Practice Note, which stated, ``Having an agenda item, `questions without notice' is inconsistent with the provisions of the regulation that require notice be given of matters to be discussed at council meetings.''

The matter caused confusion within the council, as the note later went on to say, ``providing some form of public participation in council meetings is good practice...Each council can decide whether its Meeting Code should provide for public participation and how that is to occur.''

General manager Gary Chapman recommended that Questions Without Notice be removed from the agenda of ordinary council meetings and the planning and development review committee meetings.

Queanbeyan mayor Tim Overall moved an amendment that council, ``write to the director general of the Department of Local Government expressly asking, is it permissible for councils to determine as to whether there should be Questions Without Notice included in as an agenda item on ordinary meetings of council''.

Cr Overall said he looked very closely at the practice note but concluded the practice of allowing Questions Without Notice was contrary to the Act.

``Personally I have to say that I'm disappointed that this has come out,'' he said at the meeting.

``I'd like to see personally that we continue with Questions Without Notice, I think that if council can't decide such matters, it's clearly overregulation.''

Cr Overall said he spoke to three councillors from other areas at a recent Local Government Conference, two of whom were aware of the regulation and said they were also removing the questions from their agenda.