Speech – The Maori Party

Almost two years ago, on 17 April 2008, Te Ururoa Flavell spoke in the House of the support that the Maori Party had for the appointment of Beverley Wakem as Chief Ombudsmen. Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga

Tuesday 23 February 2010; 3.30pm

That pursuant to section 3 and 5 (2) of the Ombudsmen Act 1975, this House Recommend His Excellency the Governor General reappoint Ms Beverley Anne Wakem of Wellington as an Ombudsman and as Chief Ombudsman with effect from 1 March 2010

Almost two years ago, on 17 April 2008, Te Ururoa Flavell spoke in the House of the support that the Maori Party had for the appointment of Beverley Wakem as Chief Ombudsmen.

In that speech Mr Flavell said, and I quote from the Hansard,

We wish her great courage in continuing to tackle the truth, to be curious, to be sceptical, and not to be side-tracked by the political spin.

I am delighted to observe, Mr Speaker, that Ms Wakem has certainly lived up to the challenge set out by the Maori Party that day.

As the former Chief Executive of Radio New Zealand, and having come from an impressive career in broadcasting and public relations, Beverley Wakem was used to shaping the news rather than being the focus of the news herself.

But in December 2008 it was her decision to tackle the truth about the role of public servants in relation to Official Information Act request that catapulted her headfirst into the news.

Ms Wakem suggested that some public servants were playing games with Official information Act requests. Out of her professional curiousity – tempered with the requisite scepticism – she confronted this situation, announcing that the Office of the Ombudsmen was concerned some parts of the public service have been deliberately delaying responses to Official Information requests.

In the office’s Annual Report to Parliament, Chief Ombudsmen Beverley Wakem subsequently concluded that the practice was unacceptable and subverts the purpose of the legislation. She identified that there is what she described as a regrettable tendency to game the system and delay responses until the complainants’ interest in the matter had passed.

Mr Speaker, it is statements like that which demonstrate determination of Ms Wakem to bring sharp intellectual rigour and moral fortitude to the role of Ombudsman.

The name of the office of the Ombudsman, Te Tari-o-Ngā Kaitiaki Mana Tangata, tells us that this is an office which gives priority to the protection and promotion of the rights of people. It is a name which expresses the importance of a guardian, caring for the overall good of the people.

Mr Speaker, another attribute that we see in the work of Ms Wakem is that she not only is prepared to make public statements, but she goes one step further and tries to introduce strategies and support to help address any issues she identifies.

As a classic example of this it is perhaps useful to go back to the statement about Official Information Act requests.

While noting the disappointment that the Office had with the way in which Official Information Act requests were being issued, the Office immediately conducted a series of briefings with public sector Chief Executives and representatives of political parties and published guidance material to help improve understanding and practice in this area.

Whether or not it was a direct result of these workshops is unknown, but it is of interest to note that the number of complaints received under the OIA increased by 10% over the past year to 897.

How agencies deal with requests and communicate with those requesting the information is a critical part of the role. It is perhaps worrying that after 25 years of the official information Act being enacted, that some government agencies are still not responding appropriately – but that’s a matter for debate on another day.

For the purposes of this debate, we merely seek to congratulate Bev Wakem for the influence she has already brought to bear as Ombudsman.

The office of the Ombudsman plays a critical role in the lives of many New Zealanders and the Maori Party has the most profound respect for the work of the people who fulfil this role. The challenges they face are significant – investigating complaints about the decisions of central and local government agencies, of Ministers of the Crown, taking responsibility to tackle the truth.

The office of the Ombudsman encourages citizen participation in the democratic process; it maintains the decorum of respect that we would expect to see between individuals and agencies and for all these reasons, we are happy to add our support to the Notice of Motion to endorse Bev Wakem in this important role.

ENDS

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