Elected councillors are the decision-making brain of local government but too often, they're kept in the dark.
In a recent episode of the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union's Taxpayer Talk podcast, Franks Ogilvie Director Stephen Franks and Senior Solicitor Aly Miller joined the conversation on a critical but underappreciated issue: the right of elected local government representatives to access the information they need to do their jobs.
Councillors across New Zealand routinely face a frustrating reality. Officers can use procedural advice to sideline inconvenient questions. Legal opinions are withheld or framed in ways that suit staff rather than serve elected members. Code of Conduct complaints are weaponised against dissenting voices. And yet, it is the councillors who are accountable to the public.
Stephen and Aly drew on Franks Ogilvie's deep experience advising councillors and councils to explain what the law actually says, where the gaps are, and what needs to change. The firm recently submitted to Parliament on the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, advocating specifically for councillors to have a strengthened right to access information about the bodies they govern.
Listen to the episode: taxpayers.org.nz/taxpayer_talk_local_council_info
