Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 18/10/23

A Little bit helps by quitting – he misread the public mood on democracy and he didn’t deliver on the OIA

Another day, another check with the government’s official website – and another disappointment at finding no news since before election day.

Point of Order: Hobbling the lobbyists – the PM calls it “transparency”....

.....but what is being done to make ministers comply with the OIA?

The Prime Minister’s proposals to hobble political lobbyists were the big headline-grabbing announcement on the Beehive website when we checked this morning.

Chris Hipkins yesterday announced four measures to put lobbyists on the same footing as any other citizen who might want to contact the inhabitants of the Beehive.

But one of those measures is a call for advice which he won’t receive until next year and two of the others are requests for someone else to take the action he wants taken.

Point of Order: Secrecy shrouds details of RNZAF planes being intercepted while flying on missions overseas

The disclosure that 92 missions flown by RNZAF P3 Orions have been intercepted by the jets of foreign powers is sending shock waves through the broader defence community.

Details of the incidents, including the identity of the foreign powers and the exact locations of the interceptions, were withheld on national security grounds under the Official Information Act.

The NZ Herald broke the story after it had been withheld on national security grounds.

Karl du Fresne: Hallucinatory moments of optimism

Notwithstanding everything I wrote on this blog site yesterday about contemporary journalism (none of which I resile from), there are days when, in insane moments of giddy optimism, I imagine that the tide might be turning after years of largely sycophantic media coverage of the government.

Take last night’s edition of Newshub’s 6 o’clock news, in which the first item put the heat on the government over the alarming and apparently uncontrollable surge in inflation. Here was a news outlet doing exactly what the media are supposed to do in a liberal democracy: namely, report on issues that affect the community and hold those in power accountable.

That report was followed by politically damaging coverage of the government’s refusal to ease harsh MIQ requirements, with heartbreaking consequences for the thousands of people affected, even after Ministry of Health officials had advised that it was safe to do so.

Later came an item asking why the government was dragging the chain over the resumption of economically beneficial cruise ship visits when comparable countries, notably Australia, have given them the green light.

All this seemed to represent a striking change in tone from Newshub’s usual political coverage.

Lindsay Mitchell: Treasury releasing OIA request responses - all govt depts should follow suit

Announced yesterday:

The Treasury is trialling the publication of its responses to selected Official Information Act (OIA) requests. 

Responses to selected OIA requests received by the Treasury are published here soon after the requestor has received their response from the Treasury. The reply letter from the Treasury to the requestor explains what information, if any, has been withheld under the OIA and under which grounds. The requestor's name and address have been removed.