Another relevant blogpost on this subject, this time from the UK, discusses the 'ecology of transparency'. I'd prefer an 'ecology of openness' since it implies greater commitment to enabling citizen participation in governance, but in any case, it could be argued that NZ doesn't have a fully functioning 'ecology of openness' since the demise of the Information Authority in 1987 and the lack of any NGO that campaigns on this issue.

The UK is worth keeping an eye on for another reason as their version of the OIA is up for review (as the OIA is here) and the Government is likely to push for a substantial hike in fees, plus an absolute exemption for Cabinet material (i.e. no test of whether disclosure would cause harm, and no test of whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs that in withholding).