Posts by Idiot Savant
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Ah, but according to the Obmudsman, the Ministers themselves are not subject to the OIA. Go figure.
And yet, they keep answering my requests for advice they have received...
The other value in a site for OIA is for transparency - seeing what process goes where, and how the machinery of government works. Very useful in a democracy. Also, you can look at what other questions are being asked and perhaps contact the requester if you think their results might be useful to your own queries.
I'd like to see a community grow up around the site, dedicated to keeping government honest. I think an open site that shows progress and procrastination by government agencies in answering OIAs is valuable in itself. If nothing else, it may spur those answering if they know that there are others watching from the sidelines.
I agree with all of the above. And it would be a great source of data on how the process worked in practice for the public (something which is difficult to get).
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I'd tend to agree, but I come from a public sector background (and I understand you have a smattering, yourself, I/S?)
The closest I've come to working in the public sector is being employed by an labour-hire sweatshop to process student loan applications one year. It gave me a firm understanding of why I loathe WINZ, and I quit at the first opportunity (24 hours notice cuts both ways, arseholes).
and know where to look. The first hurdle is knowing where to send the request. I knew of one that got bounced around 4 departments once, not because it was sensitive but because even the agencies didn't know who was best placed to deal with it.
If in doubt, send it to the Minister. It'll take longer, but postage is at least free :)
Local government is just as bad, especially around the boundaries.
And to pull this thread back on topic: will SuperAuckland lead to better outcomes for LGOI&MA requests?
Somehow, I doubt it.
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The problem with having a lot of experience with OAI requests is that you sometimes lose the perspective of what it _should_ be like as opposed to what it _is_ actually like.
Not really. You write to the Minister or appropriate official, and in about a month (20 working days, plus many are a day or two late) you get some answers. Sometimes they grant themselves an extension, sometimes they redact material, sometimes they withold on spurious or non-spurious grounds. But most of the time, you get the information you're after, for free.
For all my bitching and complaining, that has been my overwhelming experience. Its not painful, unless the Minister is particularly sensitive about something. And then you write a polite letter to the Ombudsmen, and they take a look at it.
It is good to step back, leave the baggage at home and take a fresh look at it. Ask the question again "Why is this so hard?"
Because they're talking to local government. That's a whole different ballgame, in part because they didn't have n years of training and culture change to prepare them for the Act - meaning they do not share the public service's culture of openness. Plus they are more sensitive to costs, and less sensitive to democracy, and so charge as a matter of course.
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Please, PLEASE, don't let us have a "Lord Mayor". The title has all sorts of connotations. Do we need the rest of the country thinking we're lording it over them?
Particularly since such views tend to lead to things liek this?
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A really helpful contribution would be if they could adapt What Do They Know from the MySociety folks to New Zealand.
I'll second that. It's a fantastic idea which provides a good public resource both of stuff that's been dug up, and areas people are looking into.
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It did take me a while to articulate a response, given my original reaction was vowel-less.
Much like my response to the Auckland "supercity" report.
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And its dead. Yay!
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s92A to be scrapped this afternoon?
Here's hoping.
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Australian economist John Quiggin's been running a series called refuted economic doctrines over at Crooked Timber. The highlights for me so far: trickle down and the myth of the 'efficient market'.
I'll second this - its a fascinating series, and well worth reading.
The scary thing is that NZ is an orthodox follower of these failed doctrines.
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then doing rewrites of items from other papers (my first encounter with plaigarism?)
Please - they call it "lift and copy".