Ombudsman investigation 2024/25: Local government - Public survey
Introduction
The Chief Ombudsman is conducting an investigation into five agencies' Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) compliance and practice. Where relevant to the agency, workshop (or other informal meeting) practices are also included in the investigation. Note: Part 7 of the LGOIMA (local authority meetings) is not relevant to Wellington Water.
The following definitions are used in this investigation:
· The term ‘Meeting’ has the meaning given to it in section 45(1) of the LGOIMA. Any meeting at which no resolutions or decisions are made is not a ‘Meeting’ under section 45(1) of the LGOIMA.
· ‘Workshop’ means any organised or scheduled meeting, attended by local authority staff and elected members for the purpose of conducting Council business, which falls outside the definition of a ‘Meeting’ in section 45(1) of the LGOIMA. Local authorities may use other terms for this such as ‘briefings’ or ‘informal meetings’.
The purpose of this survey is to gather information about public experiences and perceptions of openness in relation to requests made under the LGOIMA. Where relevant to the agency, the survey asks about the public's experiences and perceptions of Meetings and workshops.
The survey will be available online until Friday 29 November 2024.
Privacy and confidentiality
Individual survey responses will be held in confidence and will not be shared with the agency. The Ombudsman is subject to secrecy requirements under section 21 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975, and is not subject to the Official Information Act 1982 or the LGOIMA. Aggregate data and unattributed comments may appear in the Ombudsman’s investigation report, which will be published.
In order to ensure the integrity of the survey, we ask for your name and email address. This allows the responses to be validated if necessary. We cannot use your survey response if you do not provide your name and email address, as we cannot rely on anonymous responses. We will not disclose your personal details.
If you would prefer to complete this survey offline, please contact us at oipi.team@ombudsman.parliament.nz to request a PDF version of the survey that you can either email or post to the Chief Ombudsman.
Please be aware that comments you make in this survey will not be treated as a complaint against the agency. If you wish to make a complaint to the Chief Ombudsman about a particular act or decision of an agency, you can do so via the link below: