New Zealand Results Report 2022-2024

New Zealand’s fourth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... supported community engagement by government agencies. Following a change of government and reprioritisation of reforms, progress on commitments slowed. The OGP process would benefit from rebuilding trust between government and civil society stakeholders.

Implementation

Half of the commitments produced early resultsEarly results refer to concrete changes in government practice related to transparency, citizen participation, and/or public accountability as a result of a commitment’s implementation. OGP’s Inde... More in opening government by the end of the implementation period. Under CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 1, government agencies received improved guidance on community engagement and learned from a community of practice. Commitment 2 published reports on lessons learned from pilot citizens’ assemblies in Auckland and Wellington. Commitment 6 updated the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) and laid groundwork for a portal that would improve procurement transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More. Commitment 8 advanced responsible government use of algorithms through an assessment toolkit and community of practice. No commitments had significant early results in opening government.

Overall, the action plan’s level of completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More was lower than previous plans. Three of the eight commitments were substantially or fully completed. Progress was slowed by shifts in government priorities following the 2023 general election, and associated cuts to government spending that resulted from the incoming government’s policies. For instance, changed priorities halted progress on beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... More transparency reforms under Commitment 5, the action plan’s most promising commitmentThrough the Action Plan Review, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) recognizes promising commitments that address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. Pro....

Participation and co-creation

The New Zealand OGP process is overseen by the Public Service Commission | Te Kawa Mataaho (PSC). ^[1] It collaborated with a range of civil society organisations (CSOs) and five other government agencies, which were responsible for implementing the commitments. Until June 2023, the PSC was also advised by an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) consisting of six civil society members. While government and civil society engaged at the beginning of the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive..., communication breakdowns led to some CSOs withdrawing by the end of the action plan cycle. Rebuilding trust between government and civil society stakeholders would benefit the OGP process going forward.

During the implementation period, New Zealand did not meet minimum requirements 1.1 and 5.1 of the OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards.^[2] These require the establishment of a multistakeholder space for dialogue that meets at least every six months, and the hosting of at least two meetings every year with civil society to present implementation results and collect comments. Due to the grace period for implementing OGP’s updated Participation and CoCreation Standards, New Zealand’s non-compliance with the minimum requirementsAll OGP participating countries are expected to adhere to the Participation and Co-Creation Standards. Each Standard includes clear and measurable minimum requirements that all OGP participating count... currently does not affect its OGP status.

Implementation in Context

During the implementation period, the general election in November 2023 resulted in a new coalition government of three parties with priorities that diverged from those of the prior government. Uncertainty regarding the alignment of commitments with the new government’s priorities caused progress to stall or slow while this was clarified. In particular, the new government reduced government spending, in order to respond to election promises and meet their public debt goals,^[3] which hindered the progress of some commitments. Following the appointment of a new minister, the PSC awaited ministerial direction on OGP work, including arrangements for a future multi-stakeholder forum to replace the EAP.^[4] In December 2024, PSC published papers evidencing consideration of withdrawal from OGP.^[5] Ultimately, the New Zealand government remains an OGP member.