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Local Government Official Information And Meetings Act 1987
The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (sometimes known by its acronym LGOIMA) is a statute of the New Zealand Parliament which creates a public right of access to information held by local authorities and council-controlled organisations and sets standards of openness for local authority meetings. It is one of New Zealand's freedom of information laws. Summary of the Act The Act is an implementation of freedom of information legislation. It creates a regime by which any person can request and receive information held by local authorities and council-controlled organisations. The request regime mirrors that of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), with similar (though more limited) withholding grounds. A significant difference is that requests under LGOIMA can be made by "any person", rather than New Zealand citizens or residents. As with the OIA, decisions made under the Act can be appealed to the Ombudsman, and there is immunity from civil and cri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zealand, governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The New Zealand Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It has met in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, since 1865 and in its Parliament House, Wellington, current building since 1922. The House of Representatives normally consists of 120 members of Parliament (MPs), though sometimes more due to overhang seats. There are 72 MPs elected directly in New Zealand electorates, electorates while the remainder of seats are assigned to list MPs based on each List of political parties in New Zealand, party's share of the total party vote. Māori people, Māori were represe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Bassett
Michael Edward Rainton Bassett (born 28 August 1938) is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government. He is also a noted New Zealand historian, and has published a number of books on New Zealand politics, including biographies of Prime Ministers Peter Fraser, Gordon Coates and Joseph Ward. Life before politics Bassett was born on 28 August 1938 in Auckland, the son of Clare Bassett (née Brown) and Edward Bassett, and educated at Owairaka School, Dilworth School, Mt Albert Grammar, and the University of Auckland. He completed BA and MA degrees in history at the University of Auckland before winning a fellowship to Duke University in the United States in 1961. He completed a PhD in American history there, completing a dissertation entitled ''The Socialist Party of America, 1912–1919: Years of Decline.'' In 1964, Bassett returned to New Zealand and became a senior lecturer in h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling laws; registering births, deaths, marriages and civil unions; supplying support services to ministers; and advising the government on a range of relevant policies and issues. Other services provided by the department include a translation service, publication of the ''New Zealand Gazette'' (the official government newspaper), a flag hire service, management of VIP visits to New Zealand, running the Lake Taupō harbourmaster's office (under a special agreement with the local iwi) and the administration of offshore islands. History 19th century The Department of Internal Affairs traces its roots back to the Colonial Secretary's Office, which from the time New Zealand became a British colony, in 1840, was responsible for almost all central government duties. The d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Official Information Act 1982
The Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) is a statute of the New Zealand Parliament that creates a public right to access information held by government bodies. It is New Zealand's primary freedom of information law and an important part of New Zealand's constitutional framework. The guiding principle of the act is that official information should be made available unless there is good reason for withholding it.OIA, section 5. Requests to government departments or state agencies for information must be answered "as soon as reasonably practicable", and within 20 working days.OIA, section 15. If an agency declines to provide the information, it must provide a reason and advise the requester that they have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate whether or not that decision is justified under the provisions of the act.OIA, section 19. Approximately 45,000 requests are made under the act each year, with over 90% of them answered within statutory timeframes. There have been r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statute
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed will of a legislative body, whether that be on the behalf of a country, state or province, county, municipality, or so on. Depending on the legal system, a statute may also be referred to as an "act." Etymology The word appears in use in English as early as the 14th century. "Statute" and earlier English spellings were derived from the Old French words ''statut'', ''estatut'', ''estatu,'' meaning "(royal) promulgation, (legal) statute." These terms were in turn derived from the Late Latin ''statutum,'' meaning "a law, decree." Publication and organization In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Council-controlled Organisation
Council-controlled organisations (CCOs) and council-controlled trading organisations in New Zealand are what were formerly known as ''local-authority trading enterprises'' (''LATEs''). Introduced under Sections 6 and 7 of the ''Local Government Act 2002 (New Zealand), Local Government Act 2002'', they are essentially any company with a majority Territorial authorities of New Zealand, council shareholding, or a trust or similar organisation with a majority of council-controlled votes or council-appointed trustees, ''unless'' designated otherwise. More than one council may be represented in a council-controlled organisation. They are used for widely varying purposes by councils. For example, the Wellington, Wellington City Council uses trusts to hold museums and its zoo, while in 1996 the Horowhenua, Horowhenua District Council transferred its library functions to the Horowhenua Library Trust. In the past, the erstwhile for-profit LATEs were seen as the local government equivalent o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Information Legislation
Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. In recent years Access to Information Act has also been used. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Also variously referred to as open records, or sunshine laws (in the United States), governments are typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but these are usually unused if specific support legislation does not exist. Additionally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to ensure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Office Of The Ombudsman (New Zealand)
The Ombudsman is an officer of the New Zealand Parliament who independently looks into complaints. The core jurisdiction of the office covers cases of maladministration. Over the years, it has been progressively expanded to include complaints under the Official Information Act 1982 and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, as well as whistleblower complaints under the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. Additionally, the Ombudsman serves as one of New Zealand's national preventive mechanisms under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. Ombudsmen are appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand on recommendation of the New Zealand House of Representatives for a term of five years. Since 31 March 2025, the Chief Ombudsman is John Allen (diplomat), John Allen. History The idea of establishing an ombudsman in New Zealand dates back to early 1961 when the Second National Government of New Zealand, Second National Government circulated a paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Law Commission
New Zealand's Law Commission () was established in 1986 by the ''Law Commission Act 1985''. The commission is an independent Crown entity as defined in the Crown Entities Act 2004. The main objective of the Law Commission, as declared in its founding legislation, is to monitor and critically analyse the laws of New Zealand with a view to identifying—and proposing solutions to—their possible shortcomings. The Law Commission reviews, reforms and develops New Zealand law. It then makes recommendations to the Government to improve the law. It also advises its Responsible Minister and government agencies on how to make the law more accessible and easier to understand. The commission has a commitment to consult the public on areas of law that it reviews. It promotes discussion and consultation by publishing Issues Papers. It invites submissions from the public before it makes recommendations to the Responsible Minister. It publishes these recommendations in a report to Parliamen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In New Zealand
New Zealand has a unitary system of government in which the authority of the central government defines sub-national entities. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers conferred upon it by the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities are responsible for enabling democratic local decision-making and promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, as well as more specific functions for which they have delegated authority. , seventy-eight local authorities cover all areas of New Zealand. Local authorities are positioned within a two-tier structure of territorial authorities (district and city councils) and superimposed regional councils. In addition, until their abolition in 2022, district health boards were locally-elected bodies with responsibilities for oversight of health and disability services within a specified area, although these boards were not generally considered to be lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statutes Of New Zealand
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed will of a legislative body, whether that be on the behalf of a country, state or province, county, municipality, or so on. Depending on the legal system, a statute may also be referred to as an "act." Etymology The word appears in use in English as early as the 14th century. "Statute" and earlier English spellings were derived from the Old French words ''statut'', ''estatut'', ''estatu,'' meaning "(royal) promulgation, (legal) statute." These terms were in turn derived from the Late Latin ''statutum,'' meaning "a law, decree." Publication and organization In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
