Doing Democracy Better: Iain Walker speaking tour, 10-14 May - Trust Democracy NZ Iain Walker of Australia’s newDemocracy Foundation tours New Zealand, sharing practical insights on citizens’ assemblies and doing democracy better.

How can we make democracy work when issues are complex, contested & long term?

Trust Democracy is co‑hosting Iain Walker (newDemocracy, Australia) for a NZ speaking tour, 10–14 May.

Details of free public events in Wellington, Auckland, Queenstown & online here 👉 trustdemocracy.nz/2026/04/doin...

For the People: Tax Corporate Profits Now is the time for the Government to increase the tax on corporate profits and put it back into the people. Show your support and get involved.

A petition for tax, which is how we fund our collective agent - government - to do our work! our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/fo...

Trust Democracy is deeply concerned by the NZ government's move away from a traditional census to an untested approach of relying on administrative data.

We've responded to the Stats NZ consultation, and you can too, before Friday 19 December. Read our response:

trustdemocracy.nz/wp-content/u...

Celebrating a string of world firsts by Roy Murphy Trust Democracy, which helped to organise and support the Citizens Assembly on Climate held in Porirua last May, celebrated and examined the innovations that the Assembly introduced t...

As @trustdemocracy.nz members, Finn Shewell & I want to promote all the democratic innovation happening in Porirua, which is why we organised our 'A Place of Firsts' event. So we're very happy that Wellington.Scoop has published an account of what was talked about! wellington.scoop.co.nz?p=176321

Episodes

How do we go about 'fixing democracy'? For some possible answers, check out David Runciman's Past, Present, Future podcast. How do we fix elections and parliaments? What can citizens assemblies do? Use the filter 'fixing democracy' to see all the episodes. www.ppfideas.com/episodes

Great to see the Porirua Assemby on Climate - Te Tititi based, community led, inclusive of young people - being discussed in Australia. www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/poriruaassem...

Deliberative and participatory processes are both needed. Most deliberative process have been run by central or local government authorities but they don't have to be as seen in the Porirua Assembly, the UK Power 2010 campaign & the Australian citizens jury on disability insurance

Sortition, ancient and modern (with Hugh Pope) YouTube video by James Kierstead

Well said, Deb. The only thing I would add is that James Kierstead knows quite a bit about deliberative democracy as shown when he interviewed Hugh Pope from DemocracyNext about sortition and citizens assemblies. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF37...

We have submitted on the 4 year terms bill.

The stated purpose of the Bill is to help improve law making.

But no evidence has been presented that lengthening the parliamentary term and changing the balance of select
committees would have this effect.

trustdemocracy.nz/wp-content/u...

Thread 🧵

The log of Trust Democracy is displayed above a photo of Associate Professors Matheson Russell. On the right is the following text: More Referenda Better Democracy? Hear from an expert and discuss the issues! Monday 12 May 2025 at 6 pm in person in Wellington and via Zoom Register now on our website!

More Referenda, Better Democracy?

With New Zealanders likely to vote on extending the parliamentary term at the 2026 general election, join us at our AGM for a discussion about referenda and options for strengthening the public’s democratic voice.

Register now!
trustdemocracy.nz/2025/03/noti...

Democracy 2.0: Innovations with John Gastil Listen to this episode from Mission Waves: Riding the Diplomatic Current in NZ & the Pacific on Spotify. Mike from the Embassy the privilege of sitting down with John Gastil, Distinguished Professor a...

Ready to seriously imagine what Govt 2.0 should include? John Gastil, the US democratic scholar and innovator, was in NZ recently and outlines some possibilities in this podcast open.spotify.com/episode/1kpk...

What's at stake in the upcoming US election? How can deliberative practices improve referenda? How might digital democracies be realised? Check out these Auckland and Wellington events on 5, 11, 12 June with deliberative democracy heavyweight, John Gastil. trustdemocracy.nz/2024/05/gast...

It's a pretty fundamental question if we want 'trust' and 'democracy': What does fairness mean to New Zealanders? Explore this question with others via Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures's online deliberation.
auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Delighted to share this Policy Quarterly article on the history of deliberative democracy in NZ. With Tatjana Buklijaš and @maxrashbrooke.bsky.social, we have documented 3 NZ cases - one each from the 1990s, 2000s & 2010s. #DeliberativeDemocracy #PolicyQuarterly ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/v...

CSOs call on the Minister for the Public Service and Finance to adequately fund Open Government Partnership work Eight civil society organisations have written to Minister Willis who is both the Minister responsible for New Zealand's membership of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), and Minister of Finance as...

Eight CSOs have written to the Minister responsible for NZ's membership of the Open Government Partnership, asking her to ensure that adequate funding is provided so that ambitious new pieces of work are committed to & delivered in our next National Action Plan.

nzccl.org.nz/csos-call-fo...

Prof Anne Salmond will deliver a lecture on 30 April.

Dame Anne will discuss how NZ is a democracy, not a company, how the weakening or avoiding of parliamentary & external checks and balances on executive power risks NZ becoming more authoritarian.

Register here: vuw.eventsair.com/2024-sir-fra...