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.
