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The news is crap #2

Posted by Clare Curran on September 3rd, 2010

I want to believe in our media. I believe the craft of journalism to be an extraordinarily important thing.

It is a critical part of our democracy. And it distresses me that I am so critical and that it has so deteriorated.

I believe that most journalists believe in their craft. And many are good. The institutions they work for have morphed and twisted so much to adapt to a changing world without being able to catch up, that the quest for market share has become so much more important than reflecting back and challenging our society, our culture and the issues that beset it.

So I am heartened tonight to discover this piece, a speech written by Mark Scott, the managing director of Australia’s ABC TV and radio. He is reflecting on the Australian election and the role played by media. By social media. How it could change. For the better.

It gives me hope.

Though we have to focus on our media.

Here’s an excerpt. I urge you to read the piece

The ABC hosted Jay Rosen for a day while he was recently in Australia. He is always good value on the role of social media and the nature of politicaljournalism – in some ways quite a contrarian – and full of encouragement about things we could do better.

He had two suggestions for the ABC, which we are exploring and will likely pursue.

The first is to provide more background, detail and context for members of our audience who are coming fresh to complex stories: like an ETS, or the NBN, or the operations of a hung parliament. The ABC has a role as a patient explainer of these complexities, to help people catch up with the conversation, understand what is being said and to make a contribution if they wish. It plays nicely to our Charter role to provide an educational service to the community. It makes policy more accessible and can bring important issues into the mainstream.

And Rosen said we should plan more thoroughly and consult more widely around what national issues are at play in an election campaign. Long before the campaign starts, talk with the community, engage with experts, undertake polling, think about national challenges: the immediate and the far-reaching.

Charter? What’s that? Planning? Backgrounding, education? Explaining complex issues? making policy accessible? Conversation? Golly. Doesn’t really feel like our media.

Hat tip @abcmarkscott (twitter)

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, broadcasting, comms & IT, democracy, journalism, media
13 Comments

OpenLabourNZ: View live footage and contribute

Posted by Clare Curran on September 2nd, 2010

Open Labour Logo

Recap
Labour has begun a new experiment in communicating with the public. A new way of developing policy, using online technology, involving citizens and committing to more open and transparent way of running government.

Called OpenLabourNZ, this is the first time a major New Zealand political party has opened up our policy development to the public in this way.

An OpenLabourNZ conference held in Wellington last weekend was a uniquely New Zealand event, drawing on similar processes used in Australia, the US and the UK.

  1. Thanks for participating in the event on Saturday
  2. You can now view the footage from Saturday’s event. It’s in chunks so you see what each participant said. There are some great contributions
  3. You can read Phil Goff’s speech here
  4. There’s been some good media coverage of OpenLabourNZ so far including a thoughtful piece from Colin James and this piece in ComputerWorld
  5. If you have any notes generated during the day, please email them to open@labour.org.nz 
  6. Given the volume of content generated, my office is now compiling all of the input into a draft document, to be published on the OpenLabourNZ wiki on Thursday 16th September. There is already a lot of content on the wiki so go and have a look.
  7. You can still edit the wiki before 16 September and we’ll take that content into account, but it might be easier just to email any ideas/comments to open@labour.org.nz
  8. Anyone interested will then have two weeks to edit the wiki to help improve and add to the final document. This will then be submitted to the Labour Party at the end of September.
  9. The Labour Party conference in October will hold a workshop on open and transparent government and consider the report
  10. The Labour Party Council will work with all MPs to develop Manifesto commitments on Open Government policy
  11. The twitter hashtag #olnz is still active so make use of that as well
  12. If you want to follow me on twitter I am @clarecurranmp
  13. If you don’t know much about OpenLabourNZ and want some more background, go here

If you have any suggestions, questions or issues, please email me  clare.curran@parliament.govt.nz

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, Labour Party, democracy, policy
6 Comments

The Treasury Board and the agenda for public services

Posted by Grant Robertson on September 2nd, 2010

Sometimes its hard to get across why some of the more seemingly mundane announcements made by government are important.  The idea that the Treasury has decided to create a Board to help run it might sound good. Get a bit of outside help in to make sure it is doing the right thing. Nothing wrong with that?

But when the Treasury Secretary John Whitehead slipped into a speech ten days ago that he was going to establish a “governance” Board with representatives of the “private sector” alarm bells rang for me.

Firstly, in the context of purchase advisors, politically appointed working groups on everything from tax to regulation, welfare to housing, a review of policy advice  led by Graham Scott, the role of Murray Horn leading the National Health Board, this Board, and Tony Ryall’s enthusiasm that it could be used by the rest of the public sector this is clearly part of  an agenda to fundamentally change our public sector.  That change amounts to a privatisation of advice.

Why does this matter?  It matters because our system of government is based on the idea that the public service will provide free and frank advice to Ministers. They are in effect the taxpayers representatives in making and implementing policy and ensuring the governments get the best advice possible. Privatising advice undermines that assumption of neutrality.  Those Ministers are then responsible to Parliament and the public. Handpicked policy and governance groups can lead to governments hearing what they want to hear and to reducing accountability.  And that will be bad for all of us in the long run.

If people think I am over dramatising this- take a look at the media release from Treasury yesterday.  The role of the Board is described as “setting the strategic direction” for Treasury.  John Whitehead has said he will only veto the group in ‘extremely rare’ circumstances.

Chris Eichbaum has a great article in the Dom Post today on this issue (not on-line as far as I can tell). As he says

We need responsive and responsible public servants. Injecting a new third element into our existing governance arrangements may well be a step too far. It is most certainly the kind of proposal that should be the subject of public scruitiny and debate- not just announced.

As Chris is alluding to, the process for establishing the Board is not good. There are no terms of reference, and we only have the vaguest idea of how they will work.  Again John Whitehead said after his speech ten days ago that  the Board will have “community and private sector” expertise.  No sign of the community sector in the Board members announced yesterday.  No sign of a voice for the vulnerable people who are most effected by Treasury’s policies.

I am certainly not against government agencies getting advice from the community and stakeholders.  In fact I strongly support a closer connection between agencies and the people who use services.  But not when it undermines the neutrality of public services and not when it is used to reinforce the agenda of one political party.

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Filed under: democracy, public services
5 Comments

Further Thoughts on the OIA

Posted by Grant Robertson on August 31st, 2010

Clare’s post earlier today highlighted the excellent job done by I/S over at No Right Turn in analysing the slow response from some Ministers to OIA requests. This is a topic I feel qualified to comment on having played a role in the management of OIA requests in the previous government.

Firstly it is important to acknowledge that Labour in government did not have a flawless track record in this regard, and neither did the National government of the 90s before that. I can remember when coming to work in the Beehive hearing the story of a National Minister who kept a pile of OIAs that were ready to be released beside his desk. If the person who made the request did not keep pestering the Minister’s office the OIAs simply did not go out. Clearly that is not good enough, but it serves to illustrate the point that while a Ministry or Department will often process the request within the timeframe, the blame for its failure to be released on time will often lie with the Minister and their office.

In our time in government the Ombudsmen did highlight a number of deficiencies in processing, and I can recall attending a couple of meetings about that. By the end of Labour’s term the Ombudsmen’s annual reports indicated an improvement in the processing of requests. But that does not mean that we should not be even better when we are back in government.

So, what to do from here? This was a major topic of discussion at the Open Labour event on Saturday. It seems to me that there are some short and medium term things to do

  • In the short term the National Ministers who have been highlighted by I/S need to step up their game. These delays are simply not on, and there needs to be some leadership from John Key on this.
  • Just as we are now seeing increased transparency around Ministerial and MP expenditure, there should be a regular release of information on processing times for OIAs. I am sure sunlight will be a good disinfectant in this case.
  • Looking further ahead I do think we need to move to see more documents pro-actively released, including Cabinet and Committee papers and background documents. This will actually reduce costs and promote efficiency.
  • There are other practical measures as well, such as tightening up on transfer requirements. The idea that a Minister or agency will wait til just before a 20 day period is up and then transfer a request is unacceptable.

I think the solution here is a combination of updating the law and better enforcement of current practice. The OIA still serves us well and gives access to information that other countries are still envious of. But it is not working as well as it could. I am sure a multi-partisan approach is possible, and desirable on this.  Perhaps making use of the expertise of Nicola White and others to lead the work?

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, democracy, public services
14 Comments

How do Govt Ministers perform on OIA

Posted by Clare Curran on August 31st, 2010

This is interesting.

Would like discussion to be around how government should perform on OIA requests.

Is the issue about resources and priorites? It’s interesting to me as a new-ish MP that getting information out of government can be so difficult.

I think that should change.

Hat tip: @atnorightturnnz (twitter)

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
22 Comments

OpenLabourNZ: what happens next

Posted by Clare Curran on August 31st, 2010

Open Labour Logo

The dust has settled from Saturday’s event and it’s time to think about what happens next.

Three take out messages:

  1. Labour is serious about OpenLabourNZ. It may not be headline news. But it’s important to how we engage with citizens. We will take a policy of open and transparent government into the election. And we will deliver on it in government.
  2. Collaboration is important. With many different groups. And across parliament.
  3. There’s responsibility. By the elected representatives. By the public sector (culture change) and by NZ citizens. We can’t make our government more open and transparent without a commitment and a sense of responsibility across the board.

What happens next:

  • If you haven’t already, go and visit the wiki and contribute to it. You need to register here
  • You will have the opportunity to have input for one month. (end of September)
  • The draft policy will then be submitted into the Labour Party policy process. All inputs will be taken seriously.
  • The Labour Party conference in October will hold a workshop on open and transparent government
  • The Labour Party Council will work with all MPs to develop our Manifesto commitments on Open Government policy
  • What we promise in our Manifesto we will deliver
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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
5 Comments

Hide’s appointees to run Auckland Corp

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 30th, 2010

Hide and Ford

Rodney Hide’s hand picked appointees to run the new corporatised Auckland have been announced.

Apart from Sir Don McKinnon and Mayor Bob Harvey most Aucklanders won’t know who they are. And that is the point: these people will now wield enormous power over local government in Auckland but they’ve been selected in secret by the Minister, without Aucklanders having a say.

Not only did the Key-Hide Government insist on corporatising the super city against the will of Aucklanders. But Hide couldn’t wait two months and let the newly elected Auckland Council make the appointments – he had to put his own people in there.  Hide promised to consult Auckland Mayors on the appointments and then promptly broke that promise.

The appointment that sticks in the craw is that of Mark Ford. Mr Ford is a former chief executive of Watercare and chair of the Auckland Regional Transport Agency(ARTA). He is Hide’s man put in place to run the Auckland Transition Agency setting up the super city. Along with Hide he is the main architect of the over-centralised and undemocratic corporate jack up that the super city has become. He has been extraordinarily influential, at times advising Cabinet directly.

As well as setting up the super city, and overseeing the appointment process for the directors of these council owned companies, Mark Ford now has arguably the most powerful job in the whole set up. He is going to run the new mega-transport agency which will spend 54% of Aucklanders’ rates.  Transport is the area Aucklanders most want to see fixed. It’s importance cannot be over-emphasised.

Underlying the concerns about the Auckland super city has been a fear that power is being concentrated in the hands of a highly centralised bureaucracy, and corporate boards operating behind closed doors. Mark Ford is the personal embodiment of both.

I think the Auckland Council should hold US Senate-style confirmation hearings on the appointment of these board chairs. Let the newly elected Mayor and Councillors question Hide’s appointees on behalf of the people of Auckland in open session. Ask the questions their electors want asked and then decide whether these appointments should stand.

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Filed under: Auckland, democracy, local government
45 Comments

The journey is just beginning: OpenLabourNZ

Posted by Clare Curran on August 29th, 2010

Open Labour Logo

The public event is over for OpenLabourNZ but the journey has really just begun. Will post my thoughts about the event later. In the meantime, here’s sometime stats on OpenLabourNZ so far.

  • 4,440 results on Google for #openlabournz
  • 68 #openlabournz blog posts on Red Alert
  • 399 comments on Red Alert #openlabournz blog posts
  • 497 tweets on #olnz

It’s not front page news, but it does indicate a seismic shift.

Phil Goff gave a great speech and you can read it here.

Thanks to all those who participated, physically at the event and remotely through the live stream. The twitter feed was amazing.

Thanks to all those who helped put the event together and supported me through my anxious moment. It is new and different and a bit scary for us to be opening ourselves up to the public like this.

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
13 Comments

After a time of wonder……

Posted by Maryan Street on August 28th, 2010

I’ve had a bit of a break from Red Alert recently but am keen to get back into it. Have just got home from being at the OpenLabourNZ do in Wellington this afternoon. Big ups to Clare Curran for pushing us along this path. Excellent conversation.

I have always been a fan of greater democracy and openness and the improved ability of more people to participate in decisions which affect them. Sometimes I’ve been made to feel like like Ms Naive when raising these issues in the Labour Party.  Like I don’t really know how politics works…..But I am still wedded to the principles of transparency and openness and accountability.  They are the principles on which we need to base our democracy. People won’t engage if they can’t.

Technology (as well as Clare Curran) is compelling us along this path and I welcome it. I’m pleased David Farrar was there – he has intelligent things to say about processes and access to information. I’m sorry he will be treated by a leper by his erstwhile right wing cobbers but there you go.  His choice. If the Labour Party can’t get with the democratising programme, we deserve to be left behind.

I like that we have an Official Information Act – how else would we have known that the Nats acted against official advice when they chose to extend the fire at will legislation to ALL NZ workplaces? So now we know that they chose that option a) out of  ideology (as good a reason as any); b) to make the imploding ACT party feel better; or c) to please their wealthy mates. We can now choose which of those options we believe and vote accordingly.

Bring on more of it.

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, Labour Party, democracy, social democracy
19 Comments

The power of social media

Posted by Clare Curran on August 28th, 2010

Open Labour Logo

Urge you to join the twitter discussion and get on the wiki to participate in OpenLabourNZ. Go to www.twitter.com if you’re not on twitter and join up. Search for #olnz

The six themes being discussed are on the wiki

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
4 Comments

OpenLabourNZ It’s happening

Posted by Clare Curran on August 28th, 2010

Open Labour Logo

It’s happening. Phil Goff is talkig now. Here’s how to participate from afar.

For those that can’t be there in person there are lots of ways you can participate online:

Here’s the agenda for the day so you’ll know when to be watching:

Tags:
Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
9 Comments

Get your facts right

Posted by Clayton Cosgrove on August 27th, 2010

Labour believes that the Parliament genuinely is a people’s parliament. Even if  people have differing views.So when Labour was asked (by the National Party on behalf of the Speaker) whether we objected to the Sensible Sentencing Trust holding a conference in the parliament, we said no we don’t object. After all the parliament is actually owned by the people.

It is our understanding that all the major parties were asked.

That’s it. The Labour Party was never approached to co-host. I was never approached or asked if my name could appear on the invitation. This happened without my knowledge or my permission.

Perhaps The Standard should have checked.

End of.

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, democracy, parliament
34 Comments

Have your say at Select Committee – just kidding!

Posted by Darien Fenton on August 27th, 2010

The most significant changes to workers’ rights in two decades are coming our way via the Employment Relations Amendment Bill (No 2), and the Holidays Amendment Bill, which had their first readings in parliament in the last few days.

So, you would think that the government would want New Zealanders (both for and against) to have their say.

Not so, it seems.

The two bills have been referred to the Transport & Industrial Relations Select Committee, who had, according to the Chair David Bennett, decided “informally” to call for submissions, even prior to the conclusion of the first readings in parliament.

(Disclosure :  I am a member of this Select Committee, where Labour and the Greens are in the minority, so I know what really happened, but I can’t say so publicly).

The timeframe for the submissions for these two bills is at best three weeks, with closing dates on the 13 September and 17 September respectively.

I would have thought the government would be keen to ensure all of support they claim to have had around the 90 day fire at will extension, the sickies get-to-the-doctor-or-else provision and the selling of holidays were able0 to be presented at Select Committee.

Or should I be more cynical?  Is the short timeframe really designed to make sure that unions and workers have as little time as possible to have their say?

If the government really believes there is support for these changes, they would have given more time for submissions.

But then there’s ACT calling the shots and National meekly following on behind.  I forgot that Minister Kate Wilkinson got rolled at Cabinet (again) over her recommendations.

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Filed under: 90 day trial period, Holidays, act party, democracy, labour, legislation, sick leave, workers rights, workforce
9 Comments

Why David Farrar is on a panel at OpenLabourNZ tomorrow

Posted by Clare Curran on August 27th, 2010

Open Labour Logo

I imagine there will be a few raised eyebrows around the Labour Party (and even National Party) and goodness only knows where else about David Farrar appearing on a panel at a Labour organised event.

It’s no biggie.

The subject is OpenLabourNZ. Labour’s first attempt at developing some policy in an open environment.  The subject? Open and transparent government. How we would do it.

So I guess it’s no surprise that a) Farrar would be interested and b) that he might have some worthy contributions to make.

And after all it’s an open event.

It’s kind of like going to regional NZ and having a village meeting. Only on a bigger scale and using technology as the platform.

I reckon it’s worth hearing what Farrar has to say.  He’s on live at the OpenLabourNZ event, in the afternoon,  as part of a panel to help critique and inform the themes and principles developed during the morning. The panellists are a diverse bunch with lots of experience and strong views so it should be a lively discussion. They are:

  • Grant Robertson, MP for Wellington Central and Labour spokesperson for State Services
  • David Farrar, kiwiblogger and political commentator
  • Don Christie, past president of the NZ Open Source Society
  • Pia Waugh, advisor to Australian Senator Kate Lundy
The panel discussion will be at 1:50pm on Saturday 28th (tomorrow) so if you can’t be there in person, tune in to the live feed here

It’s not to late to register for the event: email open@labour.org.nz

Update: David Farrar has blogged about his participation at OpenLabourNZ

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
27 Comments

#OpenLabourNZ – how to participate in the live event

Posted by Clare Curran on August 26th, 2010

Open Labour Logo

I hope you like the new logo (for OpenLabourNZ). I think it’s kind of cool

Thanks to all of you who have registered for the public event on Saturday 28 August and will be attending in person at the Lion Harbourview Lounge on the second floor of the Michael Fowler Centre. It’s going to be a great day.

For those that can’t be there in person there are lots of ways you can participate online:

Here’s the agenda for the day so you’ll know when to be watching:   

10.00am  Introduction by the Chair Laurence Millar
10.10am  Phil Goff’s speech
10.20am  Labour MPs – Grant Robertson and Charles Chauvel
10.30am  Andrew Raseij’s presentation
10.50am  Work session 1 – What is open government? definitions and key themes
11.30am  Morning tea
11.45am  Kate Lundy’s presentation
12.05pm  Work session 2 – making sense of the key themes, developing principles and policy ideas
1.00pm  Lunch
1.30pm  Presentation of key themes and draft principles
1.50pm  Panel Discussion - Grant Robertson, David Farrar, Don Christie, Pia Waugh
2.10pm   Work session 3 – refining principles and policy ideas
2.40pm   Afternoon tea
2.55pm   Consolidation of principles and policy ideas
3.45pm   Next steps

Note: Labour MP Maryan Street will also be attending in the afternoon and will have the opportunity to speak

During the work sessions there won’t be speeches/presentations to watch, but do keep an eye on the wiki and the #olnz Tweet stream as there’ll be updates flowing the whole time. 

Hope you participate and get something out of it.

Clare

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
11 Comments

Kate Lundy, Aus Federal Senator to talk to OpenLabourNZ

Posted by Clare Curran on August 25th, 2010

Kate Lundy, Labor Senator for the Australian Capital Territory is the second international keynote speaker to be announced to speak at the OpenLabourNZ public event on Saturday in Wellington.

Sentor Lundy has spear headed Australia’s open government initiatives and will speak alongside Andrew Rasiej, an open government expert who has advised US Senators, Congressmen and political leaders on the use of Internet since 1999, including Senate candidate Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Howard Dean, and Barack Obama (before he became US President)

In September 2009 Senator Lundy was recognised for her leadership in Gov2.0 online innovation with her Public Sphere initiative when she was ranked 13th in a short list of 25 global leaders by the International Centre for E-democracy and Politics Online.

She is a strong advocate for the use of the internet, digital technology and ICT innovation to strengthen the Australian economy for future growth, to transform public engagement in government processes and to enhance social inclusion within our communities.

Senator Lundy is also patron for CASE: Computer Assistance Support Education, a non-profit group that provides smart, open technology support to community organisations.

Senator Lundy has represented the Australian Capital Territory in the Senate in the Australian Federal Parliament as a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1996.

She has participated in every Senate Inquiry relating to telecommunications and Information Technology over the last fourteen years, and spearheaded Gov 2.0 initiatives such as her Public Sphere events which facilitate online public collaboration on policy development.

OpenLabourNZ is NZ’s first attempt to develop political policy in an open forum directly involving the community, and using online technology.

Labour Leader Phil Goff will also deliver a keynote address at the event.

Details

The event, will take place on Saturday 28 August in Wellington at the Lion Harbourview Lounge on the second floor of the Michael Fowler Centre.

It’s free and will also be streamed live over the Internet, so people who can’t be there in person can still participate. People participating from home will be able to do so using Twitter, Facebook and an online forum.

To register: email open@labour.org.nz

Update: In case it wasn’t clear; Kate will be participating via video rather than in person. Pia Waugh, her advisor and co-founder of the PublicSphere method will be there in person. 

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
5 Comments

Openness and transparency a Labour focus

Posted by Clare Curran on August 24th, 2010

This weekend the Labour Party takes a new step towards a greater emphasis on openness and transparency when it resumes government.

Labour Leader Phil Goff will address the OpenLabourNZ public event this Saturday in Wellington, thought to be New Zealand’s first attempt to develop policy in an open forum directly involving the community, and using online technology.

He will outline several important areas where Labour policy can deliver more openness and transparency in government and will address the importance of access to digital technology to be able to deliver social equity.

OpenLabourNZ is an experiment in how Labour can more deeply engage with the community and seek their input, by using new technologies and methods to increase participation and collaboration.

As well as Phil Goff, the international keynote speaker Andrew Rasiej, has advised US Senators, Congressmen and political leaders on the use of Internet since 1999 including Senate candidate Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Howard Dean, and Barack Obama (before he became US President).

Details
The event, will take place on Saturday 28 August in Wellington at the Lion Harbourview Lounge on the second floor of the Michael Fowler Centre.

It’s free

The event will also be streamed live over the Internet, so people who can’t be there in person can still participate. People participating from home will be able to do so using Twitter, Facebook and an online forum.

Further speakers will be announced shortly.

To register: email open@labour.org.nz

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
4 Comments

Elections Solomons-style

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 24th, 2010

All eyes are on Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott as they try to cobble together a majority. But just as close to home the Solomon Islands are in post-election negotiations, and if anything their task is even more complicated.

Political parties in the Solomons are little more than loose groupings. For the past two weeks groups of MPs have camped in Honiara’s top hotels, in shuttle negotiations to form a majority and choose a Prime Minister. The country has been watching nervously mindful that in 2006 the announcement of a new PM sparked rioting that saw the capital’s Chinatown burnt down.

I have just returned from a UN election observer mission to the Solomons. Nine Kiwis took part including my Labour colleague David Shearer, several other MPs and a city councillor, MFAT staff, and led by former deputy PM Wyatt Creech.  We were part of a 60-strong contingent coordinated by the UN.

I was deployed to Makira, a relatively undeveloped province in the east. It is the real Solomons: not much town to speak of, most people living from subsistence agriculture and a bit of fishing, a reliance on open motorboats to travel between villages because of a lack of roads. And sadly the Malaysian logging companies are ripping the guts out of the forests as fast as they can go.

On election day, my colleague (an American from the East-West Center) and I visited polling stations in 10 villages. We travelled with the two police officers, one Aussie and one Fijian, stationed on the island by the Regional Assistance Mission (RAMSI). Without their old 4WD we’d never have been able to travel the unbelievably pot-holed road.

It was quite something observing the elections. Churches, school rooms, health clinics and in one case even a private dwelling had been converted into polling places. Well trained and equipped polling staff ran them like clock work. Briefed by the UN and with a clipboard in hand we looked for even the slightest irregularity, and mostly found none. (more…)

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Filed under: democracy, international
9 Comments

Doing things differently: OpenLabourNZ

Posted by Clare Curran on August 23rd, 2010

New Zealand has consistently been a world leader in the development of democracy. Based around Labour’s long-held principles of fairness and decency for all New Zealanders.

We are committed to a culture of openness and transparency which strengthens our democracy. A culture of participation, open dialogue, active engagement. That’s what OpenLabourNZ is all about.

If you want to participate in helping develop Labour first attempt to open up its policy development process up to the general public then register to attend.

Laurence Millar to facilitate OpenLabourNZ event

Laurence Millar is an independent advisor in the use of ICT by governments, and Editor at Large for FutureGov magazine (www.futuregov.asia). During his ICT career of more than 35 years, he has worked in the public and private sector, in the UK, USA, Asia and New Zealand. He is currently leading the development of the e-government strategy and action plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He is a well-known supporter of Open Government, and has chaired and participated Open Government events in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Thailand. He was on the international expert advisory panel for the Gov2.0 Task Force in Australia.  He writes about open government on his blog – www.gvg.net.nz.

Event details

The public event will be held at the Lion Harbourview Lounge on the second floor of the Michael Fowler Centre on Saturday 28 August from 10am – 3pm.

The event will also be streamed live over the Internet, so people who can’t be there in person can still participate. People participating from home will be able to do so using Twitter, Facebook and an online forum. Details about how to participate online will be announced soon.

If you are able to attend in person, please register as places are limited. You are asked to participate in good faith. This is a Labour Party focussed event but it is intended to attract a wide range of participants interested in the goal of open and transparent government and how to achieve that.

Registration is free, and you can register by emailing open@labour.org.nz

For more details about the OpenLabourNZ event see here and here

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy
14 Comments

Thoughts on Australia

Posted by Chris Hipkins on August 22nd, 2010

This morning Australian’s have awoken to the very real possibility of a hung parliament. While there are still several seats that are too close to call, it looks highly likely that neither Gillard’s Labor nor Abbott’s Coalition will make it to the magical 76 required to form a majority government. To us over the ditch, this is nothing unusual. We haven’t had a majority government since about 1994, and the last leader to govern with a comfortable majority was Jim Bolger from 1990-1993.

Once the final count has been completed the most likely outcome for Australia looks to be a minority government supported by independents. But the real question is who gets to lead that government, does the incumbent get the first chance to have a go, should it be the party with the most seats, should Labor’s loss of majority give Abbott the first chance?

It will be interesting to see how the Australian public react to whatever government emerges from these results. If the government ends up being led by the smaller of the two major parties (even if there is only a seat in it) the voting public may well react against them. There will be lessons for us over here in New Zealand. So far under MMP all of our governments have been led by the largest party in Parliament, but that’s not guaranteed.

In 1996 we could have ended up with a Labour/NZ First/Alliance government, even though National was the bigger of the two major parties. In 2002, despite their disastrous result, another percent or two and National could have led a centre-right coalition despite Labour being the much bigger party. Under MMP we could well end up with the biggest party in Parliament leading the opposition, not the government. What happens in Australia over coming weeks could provide a few clues as to how the public would view that.

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Filed under: Australia, democracy
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