Transparency, accountability and decision making based on democratic principles

Last week we received from the Office of the Ombudsman this proposed case note. We were invited to comment if we “have any issues or concerns with the proposed case note.” We do have serious concerns and for transparency we decided to publish not only the Chief Ombudsman’s proposed case note here, but also our detailed response to him.

The year 2025 ended with a significant success for our local democracy in the Tasman district. The Council agreed to open its workshops to the public by default. This change is an important step forward towards more transparency.

We gave the Tasman District Council another chance to address the issues that we raised regarding the code of conduct investigation that cost ratepayers almost $40,000.

We sent the following email to all candidates and newly elected members in the 2025 local election for the Tasman District Council.