In the final week of council elections, I spoke with
Director about the need for more transparency & vigilance around lobbyists & candidates in local democracies.It followed this detailed comment piece from Bryce.
We talked about:
the lack of scrutiny in local government;
the influence of lobbying;
the need for greater transparency and integrity in political processes;
the connections between local politicians and corporate lobbyists; and,
the risks of foreign influence.
We also talked about the need to:
introduce a lobbyist register, including at local Government level;
probably to be managed by an Electoral Commission, which should also manage local elections; and,
especially as councils start using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) more intensively.
Chapters
00:00 - The State of Local Democracy in New Zealand
07:02 - The Role of Lobbyists in Local Politics
10:47 - Foreign Influence and Local Governance
12:57 - Calls for Integrity and Transparency Overhaul
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Ka kite ano
Bernard
