Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Time for greater ministerial accountability

Time for greater ministerial accountability

The Green Party has today released a proposal to introduce a ministerial disclosure regime in New Zealand to improve the transparency and accountability of government.

The proposal, based on the system used in the United Kingdom since 2010, would require all Ministers to publically release records of their meetings with external organisations, overseas travel, gifts given and received, and hospitality received. The records would be released on a quarterly basis and published online.

“A ministerial disclosure regime will bring a much-needed boost to the transparency and accountability of government in New Zealand,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“The public will be able to see, on a regular basis, who Ministers are meeting with, who they’re receiving gifts and hospitality from, and details of their overseas travel.

“Some of this information is already made public through the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests, but that doesn’t tell us the whole story and it only happens once a year.

“Regular, proactive disclosure of this information, particularly records of who Ministers are meeting with, will bring a greater measure of transparency to decision-making and will improve ministerial accountability.

“Ministers are in positions of significant power and influence. It’s important that the public is better informed about who is gaining access to Ministers.

“Even in just the last few weeks we’ve seen a number of incidences where Ministers have been acting within their ministerial capacity and that activity has been called into question.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“This regime is a relatively simple way to shed some light on this type of activity,” said Mrs Turei.

The call for a ministerial disclosure regime follows previous efforts by the Green Party to introduce a lobbyist disclosure regime to bring transparency to political lobbying in New Zealand.

“While the Lobbying Disclosure Bill was ultimately unsuccessful, what became clear through our work on that bill was a strong public appetite for greater transparency and openness about who has access to our politicians.

“A ministerial disclosure regime can deliver on that desire for greater transparency and openness, without many of the workability issues that were present with the lobbying bill. A ministerial disclosure regime could be easily implemented with minimal compliance costs.

“The Green Party has been championing honest politics for years. A ministerial disclosure regime is another positive solution for more open and accessible government.”

Fact sheet on the ministerial disclosure regime - https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/ministerial_disclosure_fact_sheet.pdf

Ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.