CODC undecided on opening doors on secret workshops

The Central Otago District Council is considering whether or not to open closed-door council workshops after the Ombudsman reprimanded local authorities for holding too many secret meetings.

While some others around the country have already thrown open workshops to members of the public and media, the Central Otago council is taking some time to consider its options.

It is a stance that mirrors that of neighbouring Queenstown Lakes District Council, who has also made no moves to immediately improve the transparency of the workshops it holds.

A spokesperson for the Central Otago council says staff are working through the recommendations made in the report by the Ombudsman, and will attend a Taituara-led webinar on the topic in mid-December.

"The action CODC will take will be confirmed with the CEO and elected members after this date," the spokesperson says.

In the past, the council has conducted workshops in private.

Although times, attendance and a brief note of what's said are recorded, this information is only potentially made public via a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request.

Since the start of the year, the council has held 25 closed-door workshops. Of these, 14 were related to the next Long Term Plan, due for sign off in 2024.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier launched a review of eight councils in August last year after complaints closed-door were undermining local democracy by taking critical discussions and decisions away from the public eye.

The findings, published in October, confirmed that some councils had been effectively closing all workshops to the public by default.

In Mr Boshier's view, that is unreasonable.

"Secrecy inevitably breeds suspicion," he says in a statement in October after the release of his report. "As a matter of good practice, workshops should be closed only where it is reasonable."

He does not consider "controversy, complexity, or the potential for embarrassment" to be good reasons to exclude the public.

Nor was the concern raised by some councillors and officials that "asking questions could make them look stupid".

"Secrecy inevitably breeds suspicion," he says in a statement in October after the release of his report. "As a matter of good practice, workshops should be closed only where it is reasonable."