MEDIA RELEASE
8 March 2013

Online citizens’ panel a new voice for Wellingtonians

Wellington City residents can now access a simple new online way to have their say about Wellington and its future.

The City Council has launched Our Capital Voice, an online panel. Everyone can now sign up to take part in opinion polls, surveys and online discussions.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown is an enthusiastic supporter of the initiative. “Citizens’ panels are a proven method of finding out what’s important to people,” she says. “Our Capital Voice will be a cost-effective way of reaching residents to complement existing options such as formal consultations.”

“We’re offering this quick, engaging and interactive tool to help people have a voice. People who don’t usually get involved in the city’s decision-making will be encouraged to take part. Of course, we also welcome the continued engagement of Wellingtonians through existing channels,” says the Mayor.

The first major use of Our Capital Voice will be gathering feedback on key proposals in the Council’s Draft Annual Plan in April.

People can still make submissions to Council proposals and plans through formal consultation processes.

Cr Paul Eagle, Council’s Community Engagement Portfolio Leader, says a key component of the site will be updates on what was asked, what Our Capital Voice members said and what the Council intends to do as a result.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a wide range of views and suggestions as we test the waters and crowd-source ideas. It’s going to be really important to let people know what happens after they’ve given us their thoughts,” says Cr Eagle.

“This is a new way of connecting with people who don’t normally engage with Council.”

A live chat with the Mayor is also planned soon. Our Capital Voice is opt-in and users can join or unsubscribe at any time.

To join Our Capital Voice, go to Wellington.govt.nz and click on the link on the homepage. Alternatively, email ourcapitalvoice@wcc.govt.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Arguably Reassuring: Inspector-General Finds GCSB "Arguably" Legal

Of the 88 individuals:

• 15 cases involving 22 individuals did not have any information intercepted by GCSB.

• another four cases involving five individuals were the subjects of a New Zealand Security Intelligence Service warrant and the GCSB assisted in the execution of the warrants. The Inspector-General is of the view that there were arguably no breaches and the law is unclear.

• the Bureau only provided technical assistance which did not involve interception of communications, involving three of the individuals, so no breach occurred.

• the remaining cases involved the collection of metadata, and the Inspector-General formed the view that there had arguably been no breach, noting once again that the law is unclear.
More>>