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.
Trust Democracy Committee member Anna Curnow describes how local government is starting to embrace more deliberative and participatory approaches for its “superpower” of being close to its communities.
After travelling 17,000 kilometres to the 2023 Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, Trust Democracy’s Chair, Simon Wright, reflects on one of the most energising and inspiring conferences he has attended. It was just a shame that he was the only New Zealand delegate. It would have been hugely beneficial for New Zealand ministers, politicians, officials and civil society reformers to have been there too.
In a response to columns in the Dominion Post about government openness, Simon Wright and Andrew Ecclestone suggest the media involve their readers in shaping policy debates.
Whilst exploring an idea about providing representation for non-voters, Simon Wright was surprised to find that New Zealand’s A+ rated electoral system fails to represent a quarter of the eligible population.
John Pennington suggests how the work of Canadian political scientist Mark E. Warren can help us help us think about the task of improving our democracy.
