Open Labour

Last week Clare Curran blogged on #OpenLabourNZ, an experiment at a new way of developing policy.

Quite fittingly, the first policy they wish to try and develop this way is on “open and transparent government”.

Now this is not quite a write the policy by wiki:

Will you be writing Labour policy?
We want to be upfront with you from the beginning

Your input will contribute to Labour’s policy. The #openlabournz document will be taken as a key input for Labour to consider in developing its policy, noting the other drivers and that there will be changes possibly made between it and the final policy. However, please be assured that the final output will be of high quality, and that high quality suggestions are always taken very seriously in Labour Party policy development.

Labour is of course a political party and politics will dictate what the final policy looks like and how it is arrived at. Once the #openlabournz document is completed, we will keep you posted about where the policy is at, and where it ends up. Labour’s policy finalisation process is for Labour members and you’re welcome to participate in that next step through the usual route of joining the party.

I think this is a welcome initiative, and I certainly look forward to participating in it. I thought Labour did a good job of involving interested stakeholders in their change of policy on S92A, with open stakeholder meetings.

In a follow up post, Clare gets into the process:

This is a brainstorming phase. We want to hear all your ideas, suggestions, and the issues you think are important regards open and transparent government. At this stage any contribution is welcome and valid, no matter how left field. Blog posts, links to news articles and reports or research, commentary on what’s happening in other countries, your half thought through or fully structured thoughts, anything is welcome.

It would be great if you could use the OpenLabourNZ tag whenever you write about the issue. This will make it easier for us to find and aggregate your input.

Later on there will be a wiki also.

So what are my initial ideas for an open and transparent government policy.

1. My previous suggestion that all Cabinet level documents be automatically placed on the Internet by DPMC within six months of creation.
2. Expanding Parliament TV to include select committees
3. Requiring all payments (above a modest threshold) from a Govt agency to be listed on a central website
4. Requiring the Attorney-General to not just publish an opinion on BORA compliance for a first reading of a bill, but also at second and third readings

I am sure given time, I can think of some more. Readers are invited to contribute their ideas below, as these will all feed into the policy process.

Labour will be Government again at some stage. I welcome the opportunity to have input into some of their policies, even though I know I will disagree with many of them. Well done to them on their initiative.