Transparency win: Ombudsman says Greater Wellington's closed workshop practices "unreasonable"
In Local Aotearoa’s biggest transparency win since revealing that a fifth of all councils were holding workshops and briefings in secret, the Ombudsman has just told Greater Wellington Regional Council that its practice of closing all workshops to the public is unreasonable.
The only thing holding the Ombudsman back from turning its provisional opinion into a final decision and issuing recommendations was Greater Wellington having a change of heart as the investigation progressed. According to the Ombudsman, the regional council has now “committed to opening workshops to the public by default” with this due to be implemented in 2026.
This latest transparency win comes just a week after Upper Hutt City Council decided to open up their workshops to the public by default. It also shows the benefit of the Ombudsman continuing to chase up those councils who are yet to meet the expectations set out in the its 2023 Open for Business report.
The Ombudsman’s provisional opinion on Greater Wellington’s workshop practices follows a complaint from me in September 2024 (and followed up in June 2025), as well as the Ombudsman having written to the council in December 2024 to warn them that their closed-door approach may be “contrary to law”. If you also remember, that warning was effectively swept under the carpet by Greater Wellington’s Chair Daran Ponter and Chief Executive Nigel Corry, who failed to inform either their Finance, Risk, and Assurance Committee or councillors about the Ombudsman’s concerns.
Given that both Ponter and Corry refused to improve Greater Wellington’s transparency practices when I raised this with them in late 2024, and failed to be forthcoming with councillors or the risk committee when the Ombudsman wrote to them about their workshop practices last year, an unreserved apology would be appropriate.
They should also commit to proactively informing councillors and the risk committee of any correspondence from public watchdogs, such as the Ombudsman or Auditor-General, so those responsible for oversight can properly ensure the organisation is meeting its legal and regulatory obligations.
The Ombudsman’s provisional opinion also should serve as a wake up call to any other councils who are still refusing to open their workshops and briefings to the public. It shouldn’t take the Ombudsman investigating and forming an adverse provisional opinion to spur you to take action. Your communities deserve openness and transparency from you, our chief public watchdog expects it of you, and the principles of good governance demand it of you.
The time to open up is now.
You can read the Ombudsman’s letter to me below:
