Watchdog to look at closed workshops

The Chief Ombudsman is to scrutinise closed-door local body workshops in an investigation spanning eight councils.

The Office of the Ombudsman said yesterday it would investigate concerns councils were ‘‘undermining local democracy’’ by using workshops to discuss issues and ‘‘make decisions behind closed doors’’.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said there was nothing preventing councils from holding workshops but he was concerned by reports some ‘‘may be using them to avoid their responsibilities under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act’’.

‘‘Meetings should be open to the public, unless there is good reason under [the act] to exclude them.’’

He said those meeting requirements couldn’t be avoided ‘‘simply by calling what is really [a] meeting a ‘workshop’ and if councils repeatedly used closed door workshops to discuss issues, the public could ‘‘become suspicious’’.

It could create the perception an issue had already been decided, he said.

He believed some councils ‘‘may be incorrectly applying the law’’ making resolutions to exclude the public.

‘‘Local bodies are not allowed to exclude the public from meetings so they can hold ‘free and frank’ discussions behind closed doors. Yet I fear this may happening.’’

The investigation would focus on eight councils: Rotorua Lakes Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Taupo¯ District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Rangitikei District Council, Waimakariri District Council, Timaru District Council and Clutha District Council.

Boshier said he had chosen the councils for ‘‘a variety of reasons’’, and some were ‘‘getting it right’’.

He would seek public, elected member and staff input, and would include an online survey available until August 26.

Public law expert and lawyer Graeme Edgeler said he did not believe there was a lack of clarity in the law, only a desire by some councils to work around it.

He said councils could simply change the names of workshops back to meetings and ‘‘all the issues with the law would go away’’.

A Local Democracy Reporting investigation in 2021 revealed between 2018 and 2020, 31 councils held 937 workshops. Of those, 737 were not open to the public.