Councils must show transparency with their workshops – Editorial

The Gisborne District Council has had 55 workshops and none has been publicly notified. Photo / 123RF

THE FACTS

• The Gisborne District Council held 55 workshops this term that were not publicly notified.
• The Thames-Coromandel District Council decided to conduct workshops without formal public records at a council meeting.
• Former Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier emphasises that trust is built through transparent decision-making and public involvement.

Elected members in our local governments should be reminded that public trust hinges on their commitment to open governance – including workshops.

It is a view backed by former Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier, who, in his 2023 report Open For Business: A report on the Chief Ombudsman’s investigation into local council meetings and workshops, stated: “Trust is at the core of the relationship between people and their locally elected representatives.”

In his report, Boshier says local government can earn trust through transparent decision-making that is open to public involvement and scrutiny.

The issue of transparency has emerged ahead of the local body elections in October, with the revelation that one district council is not being as transparent as it needs to be.

Given Boshier’s comments, a Local Democracy Reporting article about the Gisborne District Council’s workshops makes for worrying reading.

A staggering 55 workshops this term have not been publicly notified.

Although 53 out of 55 were technically open, the council had not notified the public, because it “may not always be practical or reasonable”.

The Local Government Act requires all councils to conduct their business in an “open, transparent, and democratically accountable manner”.

It’s hard to see how 55 workshops, not publicly notified, fit that definition.

Incumbent Mayor Rehette Stoltz says it’s a “work in progress, there is still massive room for improvement”.

The Thames-Coromandel District Council has also fallen short. In June last year, councillors voted four to three in favour of conducting workshops without formal public records.

“I think it is helpful for the status quo to remain; workshops are a valuable space to discuss items, there is a chance they could be scripted,” councillor John Morrisey said during that meeting.

He said it was a matter of being able to speak freely and frankly in workshop spaces, questioning the democratic process, as a consequence of any decision the council might make.

However, this argument does not outweigh the democratic process and the need for transparency.

The public deserves to know how elected members are informed and how they come to their conclusions, even though formal decisions are not made in workshops.

The Southland District Council and the Invercargill City Council, to their credit, have made workshops open to the public.

Transparency is not just a buzzword.

The fear of appearing naive, or wanting to speak freely, is not a good enough reason to conduct public business in secret.

Scrutiny should be welcomed, and is key to holding elected members accountable.