Many New Zealanders, especially younger ones, report feeling unheard during this election campaign . When people feel they have no voice, they tend not to trust many of the decisions the government makes.
Authors
- Anne Bardsley
Civic Engagement Lead, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
- Cathrine Dyer
Lecturer in Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
This has worrying implications for social cohesion and democratic legitimacy. But some councils have already started practising "deliberative democracy" - a process the Opportunity Party wants to bring to parliament - to involve people more directly in policy making through citizens' assemblies .
Political trust used to be historically high in New Zealand, but it has declined sharply since 2021 . The latest Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer now shows New Zealand sitting below the global average, in the zone of "distrust in government".
According to the OECD , only 44% of New Zealanders feel they have a say in what government does, and the trust gap is widening between those who do and those who don't.
A perception that decisions are not being made in the public interest, and that they are often swayed by powerful lobbyists, also corrodes trust.
New Zealand is an outlier in this regard. The country has no regulatory framework for lobbying - no definition, no regulatory authority, no registry or other system for disclosures. This poses a growing risk.
In a recent study involving current and former ministers, MPs, staffers and officials, interviewees described lobbying as pervasive, often occurring early in policy development, before the public even knows an issue is being discussed.
Allegations of behind-the-scenes lobbying boiled to the surface recently when the government amended climate laws to prevent companies from being sued over damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Deliberative democracy
Regulating lobbying would help by showing who is influencing decisions, but transparency alone doesn't give everyone else a say.
That is particularly important because some policy decisions are becoming more difficult to make. Policymakers face increasingly complex issues that require trade-offs between the long and the short term and between different groups in society.
Voting every three years may not be enough for issues that are technically complex, politically contested and have consequences that extend across generations. These problems call for ways to bring ordinary people into decisions earlier, and on more equal terms.
At the heart of deliberative democracy is a simple principle. Ordinary people can make thoughtful contributions to difficult public decisions when they are given reliable information, time to consider it and opportunities to hear different perspectives.
Instead of relying on slogans, social media debates or partisan talking points, people learn about an issue, discuss it with others and work towards collective decisions that benefit the common good, rather than the loudest voices in the government's ear.
Citizens' assemblies bring together diverse groups of citizens, selected by democratic lottery, to deliberate on an issue of common concern.
Selection is random but is balanced to reflect the population, for example by age, gender, ethnicity and region. This makes the group less likely to be dominated by special interests or by people who are politically confident. It is more likely to look and sound like the wider community.
Because members are drawn by lottery, they are much harder to lobby than ministers, and they have no re-election to protect.
Expanding participation
Deliberative processes have become increasingly common around the world. Since France's citizens' convention for climate in 2019, more than 200 citizens' assemblies have been held on climate change and environmental issues alone.
Research suggests participants often support more ambitious actions than what is articulated in government climate plans. They also develop a deeper understanding of the trade-offs involved.
New Zealand has begun experimenting with these approaches as well.
In 2022, a representative group of Aucklanders took part in a citizens' assembly commissioned by Watercare . Their task was to consider future water supply options for the city.
After hearing evidence and spending time deliberating together, participants recommended purified recycled wastewater as the preferred option. This was initially surprising to some observers, but the recommendation emerged from a process that allowed people to learn, question assumptions and weigh competing considerations.
The 2025 Porirua assembly on climate demonstrated how such assemblies can honour te Tiriti o Waitangi while also putting collective community leadership and young people's voices at the centre of debates.
The process succeeded in building trust and creating opportunities for the local community to take action. The assembly's core recommendations were largely integrated into the Porirua City Council's refreshed climate strategy .
Digital tools are increasingly being used to expand participation beyond the relatively small numbers who can take part in face-to-face assemblies. Platforms such as Pol.is allow thousands of people to participate in online conversations designed to find areas of shared understanding and consensus that may otherwise remain hidden.
Finding common ground amid diverse views is crucial if we are to meaningfully address the many interconnected challenges we now face as a society.
Feedback from the first Reality of Everything symposium , which we helped organise in June this year, suggests many New Zealanders care deeply about issues we face, including climate change, economic inequality, food insecurity and insurance precarity. But they don't feel heard in our current system.
The Pol.is conversation which emerged from the symposium is offering a way to lift New Zealanders' collective voices and to start setting a shared agenda for the future.
We acknowledge the contribution by environmental historian Catherine Knight.
Anne Bardsley has previously received funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for work in deliberative democracy and was one of the designers of the Watercare citizens' assembly. She is involved in the Reality of Everything symposium.
Cathrine Dyer is affiliated with the Reality of Everything project.
