Photo of Matheson Russell

Notice of 2025 AGM featuring Matheson Russell

Trust Democracy is pleased to announce that its 2025 Annual General Meeting will held on Monday 12 May at St Andrew’s on The Terrace, 30 The Terrace, Wellington, and via Zoom, and will feature an address by Associate Professor Matheson Russell on the topic 'More Referenda, Better Democracy?'

The doors will open at 5.30pm for a 6.00pm start. We welcome members and non-members for Dr Russell’s presentation, which is the first agenda item. Light refreshments will be served. The AGM will finish by 7.30pm.

Please register to reserve a seat or to receive the Zoom details.

More Referenda, Better Democracy?

What could be more democratic than putting an issue to the popular vote? 

For supporters, referenda are the best way for the public to unambiguously express its will and for politicians to obtain a political mandate (or not). For critics, referenda are ill-suited to deciding complex issues and are associated with majoritarian oppression, vested interests, manipulative information campaigns and polarisation.

With New Zealanders likely to vote on extending the parliamentary term at the 2026 general election, join us at our AGM for a timely presentation and discussion about referenda and options for strengthening the public’s democratic voice. 

About Matheson Russell

Associate Professor Matheson Russell, a leading thinker on deliberative democracy and democratic innovations from the University of Auckland, argues that we need to rethink how referenda influence policy. His work has been featured in The Spinoff, The Conversation, and RNZ. 

Draft AGM Agenda

  • Associate Professor Matheson Russell: More Referenda, Better Democracy?
  • Minutes of the previous AGM
  • Annual Report, Financial Statements and Committee disclosures
  • Election of Committee members
  • Setting of membership fees
  • Motions and Special Resolutions
  • General business

Papers to support these agenda items are, or will be made, available on our General Meetings page.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *