Porirua council could pry open closed-door workshops

Monday, 13 November 2023

Some of Porirua City Council’s closed-door workshops could be opened to the public next year after the Chief Ombudsman called the practice “unreasonable”.

Porirua city councillor Geoff Hayward wrote to Mayor Anita Baker and council chief executive Wendy Walker last month after Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said all council workshops needed to be open by default, to reduce perceptions that decisions were made behind closed doors.

Currently, the public isn’t notified of the Porirua council workshops - where councillors “learn about and discuss issues in a less structured environment than a formal meeting”, according to the council website - nor can they access the agenda or papers.

Hayward wanted the council to proactively release the dates of the workshops and a cover sheet of discussed topics, as well as allow the public to attend some of the meetings, because people would get a better sense of what’s happening with the council.

“People may want to ask for additional information that has been prepared by council officers [but] no one knows that unless they knew that those meetings were being held,” he said.

“There’s been moments when I have been in a workshop on a subject related to an external organisation … none of that information would be, to my mind, breaching any issues around commercial sensitivity or putting personal safety at risk.”

Boshier slammed the practice following an investigation into eight other local authorities, including the councils at Palmerston North, Taupō, Rangitīkei and Clutha.

“Councillors are elected to public office, a position that demands accountability. They should be prepared for a level of scrutiny and even reasonable criticism from those they represent,” he said.

Meetings should be open to the public unless there is good reason to exclude them, Boshier said, and reasons like controversy, complexity and offering ‘safe spaces’ for ‘silly questions’ were not valid enough.

Baker told The Post that open workshops were on the cards next year but thought some workshops involving items like commercially sensitive material should stay private. Decisions around publicising workshop dates and topics would be left to Walker, the council’s chief executive.

“We quite often don’t get those until a week out, or sometimes just before [the workshop],” Baker said. “I don't think it needs to be publicised a week in advance …”

Josh Trlin, another city councillor, said Boshier’s recommendations “made sense”.

“We always talk about how we want more engagement from the public so I think moving more of our discussions into public meetings is a step in the right direction and helps build trust as well.”

The Post previously reported items talked discussed at such workshops in Porirua included plans to refurbish the council chambers, although they were unlikely to be considered any time soon.

Wellington City Council has held public workshops discussing its Long Term Plan or climate adaptation programme.