Open Government Partnership New Zealand National Action Plan 2018-2020
Progress report for: May – June 2019
Commitment 1 progress report: May – June 2019
Commitment 1: Engagement with Parliament
Lead agency: Office of the Clerk
Objective: To improve public understanding of how Parliament works and engage a greater number of people with its work.
Ambition: People will be able to access information about how Parliament works more easily and more people will engage with Parliament and have their say.
OGP values:
Milestones
Milestone 1
Expand the use of Parliament TV to provide information about Parliament, in addition to coverage of the House, to show New Zealanders that Parliament is relevant to them. Content will be reviewed annually and viewer numbers will be monitored quarterly.
Start/End dates: June 2018/June 2020
Progress: Underway
Milestone 2
Make Parliament more interactive by holding three public events every year, focused on engaging people with Parliament, to raise awareness that Parliament is for everyone.
Start/End dates: December 2018/December 2019
Progress: Underway
Milestone 3
Develop and publish content showing ‘real people’ start petitions and make submissions to select committees, and make the options for having your say transparent and easy to understand to show people how to participate in the democratic process.
Start/End dates: June 2018/June 2020
Progress: Underway
Milestone 4
Develop and enhance a 360° Virtual Reality Tour of Parliament to raise children, young people’s and all New Zealanders’ awareness of what Parliament does by making it more accessible and interesting to inspire future voters.
Start/End dates: June 2018/October 2018
Progress: Completed
What we have been doing
- Work continues on developing more PTV content. A one hour programme is currently available and more will be available in the next financial year. We have reached the halfway point in the production process for this content.
- Speakers Outreach programme was run in May in Bay of Plenty, and in June in Dunedin.
How we are including diverse voices
- The refurbished Rainbow Room was opened at Parliament, and a film about the room was released: ‘'Rainbow Voices of Aotearoa New Zealand: A Documentary Short Film'.
- We ran a survey on the Parliament website to get feedback on how people would like the website’s search function to work/be improved.
How we are keeping diverse communities informed
- New Zealand Sign Language interpretation was provided on Parliament TV for the Budget Debate, the second reading of the End of Life Choice Bill, and during New Zealand Sign Language.
- Tours of Parliament in New Zealand Sign Language were promoted.
What's next?
- Production of further programmes for PTV.
- Updating and enhancing guidance information for people making submissions to Parliament.
- Developing an ongoing communications strategy to promote the Virtual Reality Tour of Parliament.
Links – Evidence of progress and milestones achieved
- Speaker’s outreach programme: www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/taking-parliament-to-the-bay-of-plenty/ , www.odt.co.nz/news/the-south-today/new-zealands-parliamentary-process-explained-youngsters
- Rainbow Room relaunch: www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/parliament-s-rainbow-room-reopens/
- Rainbow Room, including short documentary film: www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/history-and-buildings/buildings-and-grounds/parliament-house/rainbow-room/
- Tours of Parliament available in New Zealand Sign Language: www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/take-a-tour-of-parliament-in-nzsl/
- Survey seeking feedback on how to improve the website’s search function: www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/tell-us-how-we-can-improve-parliament-websites-search-function/