Open governments make it easy for their citizens to understand:

• how the government works
• how they can influence government policies and services
• how they can check that those policies and services are working.

New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership website

International Open Government Partnership website

New Zealand has a strong history of open and transparent government that is internationally recognised​. 

Open and transparent government

NZ has made 7 commitments

New Zealand’s National Action Plan 2016–2018 shows the 7 ways we have committed to being an open government under the Open Government Partnership: 

1. Open budget — making the government budget more accessible will help people discuss the issues and take part in the process.
2. Improving official information practices — a consistent set of agency practices will make government information more accessible when it’s requested under the Official Information Act 1982.
3. Improving open data access and principles — a strong foundation for open access to data and information will lead to better reuse of data and more open government operations, and help people take part in government decisions.
4. Tracking progress and outcomes of open government data release — helping government agencies know what data they should and shouldn't publicly release, and why, will increase the amount and quality of data available to the public.
5. Ongoing engagement for the Open Government Partnership — government and communities need to be able to engage on open government topics in different ways, such as online platforms, face-to-face meetings and other forums.
6. Improving access to legislation — publishing all subordinate legislation on the New Zealand Legislation website will create a single, official source of NZ’s laws.
7. Improving policy practices — policy advice to government will be informed by diverse points of view and by data and evidence.

National Action Plan 2016–2018 — Open Government Partnership New Zealand