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.

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........

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