Will trusting politicians with a longer term strengthen our democracy?

New Zealanders may soon be asked to consider whether we trust our elected Members of Parliament enough to allow them an extra year between elections. Parliament’s Justice Committee is currently considering the two bills that together would make a referendum on this a reality. Trust Democracy’s submissions call for both bills to be withdrawn and attention focused instead on making NZ’s democratic system more robust.
Photo of Matheson Russell

Notice of 2025 AGM featuring Matheson Russell

Trust Democracy is pleased to announce that its 2025 Annual General Meeting will be 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?’
Wellington U3A presentation, 25 October 2024

Whither Open Government in New Zealand?

At a U3A Wellington City session on 25 October 2024, Keitha Booth, a Trust Democracy member and international open government reviewer, explored how countries use their Open Government Partnership (OGP) memberships to systematically work with civil society to improve democratic participation, accountability and transparency, including through the use of technology. Now that the NZ Government has decided to remain in the OGP, she suggests ways to reinvigorate NZ’s open government programme based on her independent reviews of four OGP members and Taiwan, thus ensuring that open government in NZ does not continue to wither.