New Zealand and the OGP: A Civil Society View

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Photo credit: The Icy Blue Lake by Trey Ratcliff via Flickr.

Transparency International New Zealand very much welcomes the announcement this week that New Zealand has now officially joined the OGP. We see OGP membership as an important opportunity for the government to introduce new initiatives to strengthen 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, public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... and accountability. While New Zealand scores highly on a range of international governance and transparency indicators, nevertheless there are a significant number of areas that need strengthening.

By happy coincidence, we will be publishing the 2013 National Integrity System (NIS) assessment of New Zealand in the next couple of weeks. An NIS assessment is an evaluation of the principal governance systems in a country which, if they function well and in balance with each other, help to guard against the abuse of power. At the heart of the assessment are evaluations of transparency and accountability in twelve ‘pillars’ – branches of government, sectors, or watch dog agencies – that constitute New Zealand’s NIS. The wide scope of an NIS assessment enables the identification of systemic interactions, interdependencies, and priority themes and concerns. It is also ten years since 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 of the 2003 NIS assessment of New Zealand, and that study provides a good base against which to assess progress in the interim, and to identify new risks and new priority areas for attention.

The 2013 NIS assessment has involved extensive public consultation. An External Advisory Group was also formed comprising public officials, who commented on the factual accuracy and completeness of draft reports but who had no decision-making or formal review function. One of the aims of establishing the External Advisory Group was to create momentum for implementation of the recommendations.

The final report will make a large number of wide ranging recommendations. They are likely to include the development of a comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy, developed in partnership with civil society and the business community, and the rapid ratification of UNCAC (New Zealand became a signatory in 2003 but is still yet to ratify the Convention).

In addition, transparency and integrity need to be strengthened in a range of priority areas, including extending the coverage of the Official Information Act to the administration of Parliament; increasing transparency of political party finances; implementing a new government strategy to promote ‘evidence-based policy making’; establishing a public register of trusts and of the beneficial owners of companies; extending asset disclosures by public officials; increasing transparency of procurement; and actively promoting the importance of ethics and integrity through civics educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation .... The government should also initiate further assessments and research in specific areas to strengthen integrity systems over time, including commissioning an independent review of the inter-face between the political executive and the public sector focusing on the convention of providing free and frank advice.

Finally, the report will recommend that New Zealand develop, after wide public consultation, an ambitious cross-government National 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... for the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More.  Many of the recommendations in the report are potential elements in a New Zealand OGP National Plan of Action. The release of the final NIS report at the same time that the government will be initiating development of a National Action Plan provides a ready vehicle both for civil society and the government to develop ambitious, meaningful and relevant commitments.

Information on the NZ NIS assessment, including interim findings, is available at

http://transparencynz.org.nz/index.php/resources/cat_view/95-2013-national-integrity-system-assessment The final report is expected to be published on 19 November.