Recent government reports show that it is palpably not possible for the average knowledgeable person in New Zealand to find and understand how much public money is being spent on which programs, with which consultants and companies, and whether the spending has been evaluated with a view to its original outcomes.

Despite many government commitments to more transparency of government procurement there has been no significant improvement over the last four years.

While the development of NAP4 was a dispiriting experience for civil society participants who had hopes of co-design and ambition, incremental progress is being made.

The Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) has published its 4th Accountability and Transparency Report. Pacific SAIs are challenged by lack of independence and resource constraints.

Lobbying plays an important role in the development of policy and is important to a democracy. But it must be open, transparent and regulated. A Code of Conduct is suggested.

The announcement by the Prime Minister of potential regulation of lobbyists and other matters is welcome news to those who advocate for political integrity. Now we need to turn it into effective legislation.

This report published in April 2023 was primarily prepared by TINZ, with review and further contribu􀆟ons by the Parliamentary Services Library staff. The focus is on central government with some limited coverage of local government.

On 13 April NZCCL is hosting a panel discussion about the state of and promise of Open Government in light of Aotearoa New Zealand's recent Fourth National Action Plan for Open Government.

Te Kawa Mataaho have delivered New Zealand’s fourth Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. A number of commitments are related to anti-corruption and transparency.

TINZ is generally supportive of the legislation. If it works as the Bill intends it should support the Minister of Defence’s responsibility to have oversight of the Defence forces with a level of independent scrutiny and a range of investigative powers. Our concerns with the wording lie in the transparency of the process and lack of public reporting. We think that this can be provided without compromising national security concerns. That is the main focus of our brief comments.

In a comparison with 10 other jurisdictions, the absence of independent oversight of, and personal gains from lobbying in New Zealand is glaring.

New Zealand has lost the top score for Budget Transparency in the latest international Open Budget Survey. While some of the drop is temporary or can be turned around easily, the survey results raise bigger questions about what NZ needs to do next to raise the bar on fiscal transparency.

This issue of the Transparency Times has a particular focus on transparency in government. It highlights areas where the Government, politicians and public servants can be doing a much better job.

Political financing through donations, anonymous or not, should not purchase influence. The principle of one-person one vote underpins democracy. We need to protect the integrity of this essential democratic process.

From the perspective of judging a government’s commitment to openness, they are conveying a signal that no government would choose: that there is no policy coherence between stated intent and reality.

In 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).

TINZ 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.

The 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.

The 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.

The 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".

The 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.

Te 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.

Positive 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.

In 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.

17 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.

A 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.

Public 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.

Online 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

Extended 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.

The level of compliance of government agencies with the mandatory procurement rules needs significant improvement. All government agencies need to improve the quality of the information that they monitor and publish about contract award notices.

Along with many other civil society organisations Transparency International New Zealand has added its name to an international declaration on COVID-19 and its risks to open government.

Citizens have looked to the government for timely and reliable information to protect themselves, their families and their communities particularly in this time of crisis. The 2019 Open Budget Survey provides insight, strengths, weaknesses and practical areas of improvement in New Zealand's budget process.  

New 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.

While 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.

As 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?

New 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.