Online harm has real world consequences. It’s time for New Zealand to take a closer look at the role of big tech companies in amplifying and profiting from this harm, and to ensure our laws are fit for purpose.
Find out MoreA comprehensive review into New Zealand's national security system released in late May criticises intelligence and security agencies for lack of transparency and poor oversight mechanisms.
Find out MoreCan intelligence (the people and agencies) become the cornerstone on which the broader regression in public trust could be reversed? Can intelligence (the products) become a byword for trusted reliability?
Find out MoreCivil society groups have endeavoured, with mostly volunteer resources, to drive real ambition in New Zealand’s fourth Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. Sadly most of our expertise and energy has been expended without purpose.
Find out MoreThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) offers an innovative model for co-development by civil society and government to improve public transparency and accountability. We are disappointed that this opportunity has not been seized in the three years that the NAP4 has been in development.
Find out MoreWork on the fourth Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (NAP) is well underway for completion late this year. Stakeholders not already engaged in the process will have a narrow window of time to comment on the draft.
Find out MoreSocial media platforms fail to act on 89% of anti-Muslim and Islamaphobia hate content. Social media simillarly fail on climate change and COVID-19 misinformation, and on antisemitism, racist, and misogynistic content. Join the Global Summit to Address Online Harms and Misinformation conversation with legislators, academics, regulators and activists on building a better, safer and fairer Internet.
Find out MoreGiven the dominance of COVID-19 in government activity over the last two years, it is clear that procurement for covid response and recovery has been conducted almost entirely outside of public scrutiny.
Find out MoreThe public’s trust in Intelligence is precarious. Often collection of information is criticised for potential invasion of privacy but Intelligence done well supports good policy development and successful operational activity. Where this occurs, the role of intelligence goes unnoticed. Competence of intelligence is also indicated in the absence of failure.
Find out MoreThe often toxic environment of social media and fake news needs to be countered by a trusted media. Perceptions of government influence on those outlets should not be part of the conversation.
Find out MoreGiven the dominance of COVID-19 in government activity over the last two years, it is clear that procurement for covid response and recovery has been conducted almost entirely outside of public scrutiny.
Find out MoreIn December eight civil society organisations gave a ‘summer reading’ briefing to Minister Hipkins in his capacity as Minister for Public Service. This followed our work over the past year, alongside other civil society organisations, on improving New Zealand’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
Find out MoreTINZ has been tracking compliance to the publication of procurement notices using the Government Electronic Tender System. Our latest analysis shows that there has been no improvement since 2019 and that during 2021 the situation deteriorated.
Find out MoreThe New Zealand Open Government Partnership Independent Review Mechanism is seeking public comment on the draft report about the level of completion and the results of New Zealand’s third National Action Plan. The draft concludes that major progress has been made on one commitment but “The remaining eleven commitments made only marginal or no progress in opening up government practice.” The two-week public comment period ends at the close of business on 24 February 2022.
Find out MoreThe New Zealand Ombudsman, Peter Boshier, is responsible for resolving complaints about decisions on OIA requests. He also monitors the general OIA compliance and good practice of public agencies, and provides guidance and training.
Find out MoreThe work from several joint workshops was presented to Hon Chris Hipkins, the Minister for the Public Service on 28 October with more than 30 attendees from government agencies and Civil Society Organisations. Several of the organizations involved have compiled their points from the discussion and produced the Civil Society OGP Briefing titled "Open Government Partnership: Summer Reading from Civil Society".
Find out MoreThe work from several open government joint workshops was presented to Hon Chris Hipkins, the Minister for the Public Service on 28 October with more than 30 attendees from government agencies and CSOs.
Find out MoreTe Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission (PSC) recently reached out to the open government community looking for input about the topics for its first Long-term Insights Briefing and informing them that the extension to developing the next national action plan has been extended to mid-2022.
Find out MorePositive progress is being made in the development of the fourth National Action Plan for open government. We hope that the government continues to listen to, further engage and co-create with civil society.
Find out MoreIn our extensive submission we identify the opportunity for NAP4 to demonstrate commitment to “A culture of open government” – one of the five principles listed in the Public Service Act 2020. We also advocate for more effective engagement with civil society organisations, leading to co-created commitments that are drafted with the government, not by the government.
Find out MoreNew Zealanders are worried about the growing spread of misinformation and the harm it is causing our communities, according to new Classification Office research, The Edge of the Infodemic: Challenging Misinformation in Aotearoa.
Find out MoreAs a society, we need to be more proactive in defending ourselves against cybercrime. The recent attack on the US pipeline may be a part of prompting more Governmental action, in NZ and globally. Let’s hope so.
Find out More17 May kicks off Open Government Week with sessions worldwide and many online. A video featuring TINZ’s works on algorithm transparency will be shown at the plenary session.
Find out MoreA group of Ten civil society organisations with an interest in open government sent a letter to the Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for the Public Service, seeking a meeting to discuss extending the period for co-creation of Open Government Partnership National Actio Plan, thereby enabling funding for the plan to be included in Budget 2022.
Find out MorePublic comments are currently being accepted for development of New Zealand’s 4th OGP NAP. In addition to submitting comments, TINZ is working with nine other civil society groups to promote extending the consultation period and building a budget around a more ambitious action plan.
Find out MoreOnline public engagement has begun on New Zealand’s fourth Open Government National Action Plan, and you can get involved! Visit the online Delib platform was launched
Find out MoreAlgorithms are the foundation of most interactions between individuals and institutions, yet they are opaque. Transparency of algorithms is a 21st century anti-corruption issue.
Find out MoreTransparency International New Zealand has three areas of major concern about New Zealand government procurement: poor quality of data on the Government Electronic Tendering System (GETS), poor and incomplete publication of emergency procurements undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lack of secondary procurement data.
Find out MoreIt is disappointing that the leadership of the New Zealand Open Government Partnership (OGP) programme has not published any information on the programme for the last six months.
Find out MoreExtended Open Government Partnership (OGP) timeline gives government agencies an extra year to fully tackle the social, economic, political, or environmental problems they initially identified in the OGP action plan and also take COVID-19 into account.
Find out MoreThe Archive and Record Association of New Zealand is determined to prove a positive way forward for all parties to reinvigorate the archive and records network.
This is essential for documenting the activities and philosophies of New Zealand past, present and future.
Find out MoreThroughout the COVID-19 lockdown, the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) has continued to work on the Access to Secondary Legislation project. They now report on this in their latest technical update.
Find out MoreNew Zealand needs to address long-standing open government engagement and content issues in its next Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. The government and the public need to work together to resolve these issues so that more New Zealanders participate in New Zealand’s democracy.
Find out MoreWhile the publication of the NZ procurement data by MBIE is to be applauded, the quality and completeness of the data available continues to fall well short of genuine transparency. There is plenty of room for improvement.
Find out MoreTimes of crisis bring out the very best of nearly everyone. Unfortunately it also brings out the few who look at this as a time of opportunity. From small scale scams on individuals to misuse of billions earmarked for aid, this is a time of great risk. There are lots of warnings, let's heed them.
Find out MoreThere is an urgent need to improve inclusivity and integration of our recent arrivals by overcoming intransigence and lack of transparency in the public service. By this means, they will flourish and successfully contribute to our society and overall wellbeing.
Find out MoreIf last week's Open Government Partnership Fourth National Action Plan workshop is any indication, New Zealand's next plan will be the same as the last three, full of activities that are either ‘business as usual’ that should have occurred anyway, or ‘side projects’ delivered on a wing-and-a-prayer.
Find out MoreTransparency International New Zealand (TINZ) aims to ensure the current biennial engagement of the public in OGP will develop into more continuous involvement of civil society under a wider Open Government strategy.
Find out MoreColombia’s government has, throughout the last decade, passed legislation, implemented technology and created a set of institutions that let citizens know what the government is up to. The publication of open data has given its citizens a better understanding of government initiatives that used to be known only by headlines.
Find out MoreAs we enter the community consultation phase to draft a new Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (2020-2022) for New Zealand, we know the current methods of engagement aren’t working and don’t lead to actions that truly reflect the aspirations of civil society.
Is it time to consider a different approach?
Find out MoreNew Zealand is developing it's fourth Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.
Here is an update about planned events and a suggestion for areas where transformative initiatives are called for.
Find out MoreIn early February, Transparency International New Zealand (TINZ) offered a submission supporting the work of Stats NZ to create an Algorithm Charter.
TINZ strongly supports the primary purpose of the charter – to put the right safeguards in place so that data ethics are embedded in the work, and so that people and communities being served by these tools are always front of mind.
However, TINZ would like to see the Charter go further...
Find out MoreThe use of algorithms has generated problems of persistent error, bias, concealment, negative extension of use and choice restriction. The Charter is an opportunity for a commitment by public sector agencies to more consistently use transparency as an accountability tool to detect, reduce and mitigate these problems.
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