Councils around the country who are still holding closed workshops have had a nudge from the Ombudsman to open their doors.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier told councils almost 18 months ago in his report “Open for Business” that workshops should be open to the public by default, to reduce the perception that decisions were being made in secret.
“I am really pleased that a large number of councils ...have changed their practices in response to my report,” Mr Boshier told LDR.
“When agencies take on my recommendations, it shows they are willing to learn and improve their processes - this can only benefit the public.”
But not all councils had followed his advice, and he had reminded councils of his expectations.
“I recently contacted councils that had limited publicly available evidence of workshop protocols to reiterate my expectations.”
The Local Government Act stated that local authorities should conduct business in an open, transparent and democratically accountable manner, the Chief Ombudsman said.
“As a matter of good practice, workshops should be closed only where it is reasonable, and I expect good records to be kept."
The principles of openness and good administrative practice applied to workshops as much as any other aspect of council business, he said.
And for councils needing help to tell the difference between meetings and workshops, the Ombudsman had put out ‘guidance’ on the definitions and his expectations, last year.
“My follow-up work with these councils will continue,” Mr Boshier said.
Of the four West Coast councils, Buller District Council is the only one whose workshops are open to the public and reporters.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
