The Post: Opinion - Dragging public consultation into the digital age
Central Otago councillors do their bit to raise awareness of their council’s long-term plan, making themselves more visible with bright yellow caps. .JO MCKENZIE-MCLEAN
Appeared in The Post 30 April 2025
Antony Young argues that consultation efforts need to focus on social media and digital conversations.
Hundreds of millions of dollars is spent behind public consultation, yet fewer people are engaging – and those most affected aren’t having a say. It took the controversial Treaty Principals bill to trigger a record number of submissions, but most consultations barely register with the public.
Typically submissions come from organised special interest groups, paid lobbyists, Nimbys, or civic minded retirees with time on their hands. Missing in action? Everyday people - wage earners, busy parents, small business owners, Māori, Pasifika, recent migrants.
The result: the public isn’t really getting its say, and decisions that impact all of us are being quietly rubber-stamped.
Take cycleways, often pushed through because of a well-organised biking community. Or the ongoing restrictions on Eden Park concerts, thanks to vocal Mount Eden residents. Meanwhile, city councils’ long-term plans often fly under the radar due to public apathy. This imbalance is eroding trust in democracy.
Right now, a wave of government consultations are being undertaken that could significantly impact Aotearoa.The Ministry for Primary Industries is proposing rules that could make it harder for businesses to divert food waste to pig farms.
Inland Revenue wants to tax income earned by charities from non-core activities like op shops, potentially affecting funding for hospices and the SPCA.
Wellington city councillor Nureddin Abdurahman with the amount of paper involved in printing off a council agenda and submissions. The old approach to consultation, of reams of paperwork and hearing views through meetings, is no longer good enough, argues Antony Young. DAVID UNWIN / THE POST
A government proposal to create new assistant psychologist roles could lead to under-qualified workers dealing with complex cases.
Finally, the Right to Repair Bill has passed its first reading.
Media coverage of public consultations is also declining. With limited newsroom resources, they’re drawn to crime stories and council scandals rather than nuanced policy discussions. That leaves many important issues under-reported and overlooked.
Case in point, the other week I was handed a leaflet at Wellington Railway Station promoting the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Public Transport Plan. As a regular commuter, I figured I’d give feedback. But faced with heavy PDFs and 19 complex questions — from removing car parks to pets on buses — I gave up. And I’m not alone.
The truth is, traditional consultation methods — surveys, hui, stakeholder meetings — are too slow, too clunky, and too exclusive. They often amplify the loudest voices, not the most affected.
But there’s hope. Some government agencies are meeting people where they already are: online. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown recently posted a reel on Instagram urging Aucklanders to submit feedback on the city’s long-term plan —with a chance to win a meal at his favourite Chinese restaurant! Smart, direct, and cost-effective.
The City of Brimbank, on Melbourne’s outskirts, turned community consultation into a game, literally. Council staff hit the streets with iPads, while the interactive game was also made available in local shops, train stations and community centres.
Real-time data analysis allowed the team to tweak outreach locations on the fly, helping to increase participation from under-represented groups. The success of the project lay in its smart coordination of both digital and face-to-face engagement to reach a broad cross-section of the community.
The Ministry of Health has innovated recently in this area. During its Pae Ora health policy consultation, we helped them to run a social media engagement programme that got influencers like mental health campaigner Jaz Thornton and disability and cancer advocate Jessica Quinn to speak with their followers to convey their views on subjects as broad as video GP consultations, to whether they feel their health provider considers their mental wellbeing when providing care.
Te Whatu Ora encouraged the views by traditionally under represented groups such as rural residents, Māori, Pasifika, Asian, disabled and Rainbow communities to respond via social media. More than 100,000 responses were collected, with sentiment and insights delivered straight back to policy planners.
Digital and social media has offered a powerful new way to inform consultation and policy, capturing unfiltered opinions and from the public’s digital conversations.
If we’re serious about inclusive decision-making, we need to modernise how we consult. Because a democracy where only the privileged have their say isn’t a democracy at all
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