Taxpayer Talk: Stephen Franks and Aly Miller on How Council Bureaucrats Keep Elected Representatives in the Dark

In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Jordan Williams is joined by Stephen Franks and Aly Miller from Franks Ogilvie to lift the lid on a worrying trend in local government: elected councillors being shut out, stonewalled, and treated like troublemakers for asking basic questions.

From “need to know” rules to slippery definitions of “documents”, they unpack how council bureaucracies can hide information from the very people voters elected to keep them accountable. It’s a punchy look at secrecy, the local government blob, and why ratepayers should be worried when town halls decide transparency is optional.