David Farrar on Kiwiblog has some initial ideas on open and transparent govt. It’s taken me a wee while to get round to commenting on them. Which is no reflection on his ideas. I hope he’ll have more.
Here they are (in Farrar’s words):
So what are my initial ideas for an open and transparent government policy.
- My previous suggestion that all Cabinet level documents be automatically placed on the Internet by DPMC within six months of creation.
- Expanding Parliament TV to include select committees
- Requiring all payments (above a modest threshold) from a Govt agency to be listed on a central website
All worthy of discussion. I think making broadcasting the public sections of select committees would be a huge step forward. Obviously not everyone’s cup of tea but would certainly make the process of government much more visible.
Funny that I agree more with Farrar than with Trotter so far!
What do you think?
People on select committees might not want to become celebrities and have all their work scrutinised in that way. It may interfere with people’s ability to do their jobs and become a vehicle for political point scoring.
“Funny that I agree more with Farrar than with Trotter so far!”
That’s because openess is not a left-right issue, but is about an authoritarian versus libertarian mindset. Not all right-wingers are authoritarian and not everyone on the left is libertarian.
Bill – insightful comment.
I like the idea of televising select committee proceedings, and to archive them and make them searchable and accessible online. Would this discourage people from making submissions? Perhaps, but it would open up statements and positions made in select committee to review and critique. If you make a submission in writing it is made public. There is no reason that what you say to a select committee should not also be recorded and available.
Light is the best disinfectant.
I agree with him but six months seems like a faily long time before making a cabinet paper public. By that time many issues are likely to not be salient to the public anymore and thus the value of releasing them then may be less worthwhile.
“Would this discourage people from making submissions? Perhaps” – exactly, invasion of their privacy and making them more public than they want to be.
In addition to Peter Harrison’s comments:
Releasing the videos of what is said in a select committee may even result in more participation as people are better able to prepare and learn what is expected of them through the process.
Spud , select committees have plenty of written submissions. Not everyone has to ‘appear’.
As for members of the committee , it might showcase those who put hard work behind the scenes and dont go for the bright TV lights of the media scrum and soundbites
I like the idea of a televised Select Committee session. These committees are where the crux of policy influence lie, rather than the debating chamber. As for people not wanting to be televised, it is unlikely to be picked up by MSM often, and the general public wont tune in. BUT we might find those with a particular interest or expertise in something will watch.
I’d also like to see some Whistleblower legislation, allowing people within organisations to be protected from repercussions of speaking out. This with TV in select committees could be a way forward.
Not quite convinced though some good points made.
I am concerned about the invoice threshhold and commercial confidentiality – an invoice will list what services are provided and how much was paid for them. Other Govt departments and corporates will use this information to screw suppliers down.
Not that I object as I work on the side of the fence that would benefit most (external supplier management at a large corporate), but just saying …
Put select committees on tv would be great, it would show the public what a farce they are, as they are structured as to match percentage representation in the house of representatives, you might as well go in and talk to the wall if your submission doesn’t agree with that of the current governments cabinet executive because thats what you get, hell if the governing parties own cabinet and caucus can be overuled by the cabinet executive under conventions of collective responsibilty, what chance do the public have.
a(All government documentation should become public property immediately a final draught is completed for debate.
b(All sources of advice sought should be noted. All sources of advice accepted should be noted with a summary of why
c( All payments of Government or Political should be available for scrutiny i.e. no on book – off book debt etc
D(All past and present business association of MP’s to be documented in detail.
E(No international regulations to be signed upto without first being debated in the house of representatives.
F(An examination of the outdated position of ceremonial token gesture that is the Governor-General, that supposedly suggests that those in this nation can’t make,ammend and repeal law almost at will but via changing the cabinet manual can almost at will make, ammend and repeal the conventions under which they make, ammend and repeal law. A serious discussion around a written constitution giving certain inalliable rights to all citizens and checks and balances of parliament is well overdue.
Sorry below mean’t to be
c( All payments (and receipts) of Government or Political should be available for scrutiny i.e. no on book – off book debt etc
Before expanding Parl Tv to include select committees, how about repeating Parl Tv over the weekend? Not everyone is able to watch on Tues/Weds/Thurs, so using Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon to repeat the T/W/T sitting days would certainly let a lot more people see what’s going on in Parliament.
Especially during a recess, all the question times since the last recess should all be replayed (not the debates, the QT’s are the things that make us take notice)
It’s not that hard to stick a dvd on repeat on a Thursday night.
In what way is it an invasion of privacy? The submission process is public anyway so nothing more will be known than what is already available. If they’re worried about being on screen then they don’t need to appear.
Your last line was my point!
I don’t want the cameras to put people off making submissions who don’t want their mugs on TV, people need to feel free to participate! 
- Why this thread now?