Bill killed by one vote
Labour MP Darien Fenton’s Local Government (Council Controlled Organisations) Amendment Bill was thwarted by a single vote in New Zealand Parliament last month.
The Private Member’s Bill, which aimed to bring the country’s publicly-owned ports under the Official Information Act and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, was voted down 61-60 by a union of National, Act and United Future.
Ms Fenton says she is “gobsmacked” the Government does not accept ratepayers should have access to information about the management and functioning of ports they own.
“Thanks to National and its mates, ports will continue to be specifically excluded from official information requests – so ratepayers who own port companies, and those who use them, will continue to have no right to request information about how they are run,” says Ms Fenton.
“What does the National Government have to hide? Unfortunately, publicly-owned ports and the hundreds of millions of dollars expended each year will continue to be a secret to their real owners – the public.”
