Public discussion documents : a level playing field for public participation in local government decision-making?
Abstract
Several New Zealand political analysts have criticised public participation through
written submissions for its inability to offer the general public any meaningful
involvement in local government decision-making. In agreement with such a
perspective, the hypothesis tested in this study is that PDDs do not provide a level
playing field for public participation in local authority decision-making.
The first step in examining this hypothesis is a review of several participatory
theories, united by a deliberative desire to promote openness and inclusiveness in
public decisions. This review culminates in the depiction of several essential
conditions for a PDD to provide a level playing field. Thus, a level playing field is
argued to require public involvement in the production of the document; the provision
of a diverse range of perspectives in the document, which must be communicated in a
comprehensible fashion; and finally that the public are not constrained from
expressing their own judgements on an issue.
After highlighting some potential barriers to the achievement of these conditions in
the PDD process, it is noted that reasonably scant support exists for these conditions
in the formal institutional framework for public participation. Whether this weak
framework leads to the manifestation of barriers precluding level playing field
conditions is tested in case studies of two recent PDDs produced by the Christchurch
City Council (Central City: the Vision, and The Wastewater Management
Consultation Report). In supporting the hypothesis stated above, it is concluded that
time constraints (and in some instances vested economic interests) appear to preclude
PDDs from representing an open, inclusive approach to decision-making.... [Show full abstract]
Keywords
local government; public discussion documents; decision making process; public consultation; public participation; central city; wastewaterFields of Research
120501 Community Planning; 1205 Urban and Regional PlanningDate
2001Type
DissertationCollections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The application of solatium payments in the assessment of public works compensation
Todd, M. J. (Lincoln University, 2009)The need for public infrastructure is essential in modern society, efficient transport and communications networks are the grease in the machinery of any economy while provisions of hospitals, schools, modern sewerage and ... -
Land use conflict: The case of the Upper Waimakariri catchment South Island, New Zealand : a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters [i.e. Master] of Applied Science at Lincoln University
Babiera Chamberlain, J. (Lincoln University, 1997)This study investigates the historical and contemporary use pattern and use conflict of the Upper Waimakariri catchment, South Island, New Zealand. The majority of the catchment is public land and marginally productive for ... -
Stakeholder attributes and attitudes during privatisation: A New Zealand case study
Ahmed, Hafsa; Cohen, David A. (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018-07-17)Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding of stakeholder attributes and attitudes towards privatisation. It examines the stakeholder attributes through the framework provided by Mitchell et al. (1997). ...