Local Government New Zealand maintains there are still council meetings that need a degree of privacy. 

A Chief Ombudsman investigation into eight councils has found some have been effectively closing workshops to the public for invalid reasons. 

It followed complaints they were undermining local democracy.  

Local Government President Sam Broughton told Mike Hosking that the legislation still allows for publicly excluded meetings. 

He said that these might be used for things that are commercially sensitive. 

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