City of Rockingham turns off comments, Facebook for ‘information, not engagement’

The City of Rockingham does not want people leaving comments on its Facebook page.

The city has had more than 45,000 visits to its Facebook page in each of the previous three months but it has limited who can comment on many, if not all, of its posts.

Cr Peter Hudson asked at the June 16 corporate and community development committee meeting how the city moderated its social pages and on what basis it limited comments.

He said there had been questions from the community about comments being disabled or limited.

“In certain cases, comments seem to be disabled or limited with no apparent reason, or at least not in the instances that I’ve seen,” he said.

City CEO Michael Parker said the Facebook page was for sharing information, not an engagement forum.

“We would like people to utilise Rock Port in terms of putting in submissions and making their comments known to the city,” he said.

“It’s important to have that differentiation, that this is information sharing.”

Strategy, marketing and communications manager Nollaig Baker said there was a “share your thoughts” section on the city’s website.

“That’s where we ask for comments on any of our items where we’re seeking feedback,” she said.

“In the majority of cases now, we actually switch off comments on the city’s Facebook page.”

The city’s top three Facebook posts for May were on the Palm Beach West boat ramp redevelopment, Mundijong Road closure, and Safety Bay foreshore community facility development.