Appointments — Ombudsman

I move, That, pursuant to sections 3 and 5 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975, this House recommend to the Governor-General that Ron Paterson be appointed as an Ombudsman for a five-year term, commencing on 4 June 2013. Back in September my colleague Anne Tolley moved a motion congratulating the Office of the Ombudsmen on its 50-year anniversary in New Zealand, and I would like to add my congratulations to those expressed by the House in September to mark this important milestone for this equally important office.

Today I rise to move a motion that recommends the appointment of Ron Paterson to replace David McGee as an Ombudsman. Mr McGee has decided after 5 years of further service to this country not to seek reappointment, and I would like to place on record our thanks for his service in this important role. I think it is worth noting that this will be the second time that Mr McGee has been singled out for particular praise inside this House for his service to the country, having previously been the very longstanding Clerk of the House, and in that role having international recognition for his understanding of the parliamentary process.

Professor Paterson is well qualified to become an Ombudsman. He holds a first-class Bachelor of Civil Laws from the University of Oxford and an LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland. In 2011 he was awarded an ONZM for services to health. He is currently Professor of Law at Auckland University, where he teaches legal ethics, legal method, and health law. He has previously served as Health and Disability Commissioner, where he served the community that deals with health and disability issues extremely well. Since 2010 he has chaired the New Zealand Banking Ombudsman Scheme.

The position was advertised widely throughout New Zealand, and the Offices of Parliament Committee, as a select committee, has acknowledged the high calibre of applicants. Mr Paterson, though, was unanimously supported by the committee for the position. I want to thank the committee for the work that it did on behalf of Parliament in choosing such an important officer position, and I wish Professor Paterson all the best for the undertaking of Ombudsman.

As the Leader of the House observed, we recently commemorated, on the motion of his deputy, the 50th anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsmen, I think, Mr Brownlee, not Office of the Auditor-General, but an equally important office of Parliament.

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Sorry—I’ll correct the Hansard.

Yes, and no doubt the Hansard will be corrected in due course.

It is important that we recognise that the Office of the Ombudsmen is an important one, and I think everybody in the House in joining in this motion to advise the Governor-General as to this appointment would agree that Mr Paterson follows in the fine tradition of the many distinguished office holders who have served in the office.

The Leader of the House mentioned David McGee QC. Many of us in the House have had personal experience of his assistance in his former role as Clerk of this House, prior to his assumption of the office of Ombudsman. He has in turn performed in a distinguished fashion in that office. It will be a shame to see him leave, but it is reassuring to see that he is to be replaced with somebody of the calibre of Ron Paterson.

Ron Paterson was a long-serving academic at Auckland University. He currently holds the position of Professor of Health Law and Policy there. He was the New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner for 10 years, from 2000, and I think it is fair to say that he restored the credibility of that office after his predecessor rather failed to live up to the early promise that the office held out to consumers of health and disability services. It is therefore particularly pleasing that somebody who has that track record will be moving into a broadly similar position requiring similar skills and attributes as Mr Paterson has.

Ron Paterson taught me commercial law at the University of Auckland in 1987, but I do not hold him responsible for any of my subsequent errors in that field. His subsequent move to specialise in health law, typified by the position that he held in the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner and also as Deputy Director-General of Safety and Regulation in the Ministry of Health prior to that, and his many publications in this field indicate that he brings to the Office of the Ombudsmen not only the skills and the intelligence that are required but also a good deal of knowledge of the way in which the public sector works. That, of course, will be vital to the good performance of his role.

A final word about the importance of the Office of the Ombudsmen. We are all aware that the office has recently had to make it clear that it needs to have adequate resourcing and funds to do its job. My colleague Shane Jones earlier this year, via a member’s bill, suggested a model analogous to that applying to the Crown Law Office where, essentially, the department or entity that the Office of the Ombudsmen is examining ought to bear the costs of that examination, in order to try to find some sort of sustainable funding model for the office going forward. The House rejected that idea, but I think we do have to always bear in mind the need to ensure that this, one of Parliament’s most important watchdogs, is always appropriately resourced, and where it is not, we need to take action to ensure that it is.

I think the other important thing that we must bear in mind when we are considering any matter touching upon this Office of Parliament is whether or not its powers are adequate. We are in an age where information, privacy, and security are very much at the forefront of everybody’s minds. It is timely, I think, to consider, particularly in light of the recent work of the Law Commission, whether the office does have adequate powers to ensure compliance with the principles of the Official Information Act and the freedom of information statutes. Certainly for the Labour Opposition, that will be a policy priority in terms of the pledges we make in the election in 2014 whenever it occurs.

With those concluding words, we certainly join with the Leader of the House and, I anticipate, other members in wishing Mr Paterson and Greg all the best for the next 5 years.

Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora. I rise to support the motion that Parliament advise the Governor-General of the appointment of Professor Ron Paterson to the Office of the Ombudsmen.

When New Zealand’s first Ombudsman, Sir Guy Powles, was sworn in, in front of the Speaker—your office—in 1962 he said these pretty important words: “The Ombudsman is Parliament’s person—put there for the protection of the individual,”. The Ombudsman holds a very respected, very important role in our country’s democracy, and we have had a succession of very esteemed New Zealanders in this very important role. In September we celebrated the 50th anniversary of this office in New Zealand, the fourth only in the world. It has been a good idea, and has spread now, I understand, to 150 countries with Ombudsman-like institutions.

Before we talk about the appointment of Professor Ron Paterson, I would like to acknowledge the work of the current Chief Ombudsman, Dame Beverley Wakem, Dr David McGee—who, obviously, after his term in this office is moving on—and also the staff, who play a crucial role doing the important work of the Ombudsmen.

We have heard of the funding issue. We know that there is an increased workload, with increased financial pressures on the office. I think we should consider this in the next year.

Likewise, with the changing of the guard in the Office of the Ombudsmen, I think it is appropriate to reflect on the role of the office. Obviously, the title of Ombudsman comes from Scandinavian origins, and one wonders how many New Zealanders even know what the office is or does. The office is a people’s champion, as Sir Guy Powles said, put there for the protection of the individual.

I think with new technologies, increasing privacy concerns, and increasing Government engagement online it is a good time to reflect on how we can modernise this office. I think Professor Ron Paterson brings an impressive academic CV and an impressive history, and will, I am sure, relish the opportunities and the challenges of adapting this office for the modern age, along with Dame Beverley Wakem. He was a professor of law at the University of Auckland and a Health and Disability Commissioner.

Finally, it was a privilege to sit on the Officers of Parliament Committee. I would like to acknowledge all those members, and recommend to this House that the Governor-General appoint Professor Ron Paterson.

New Zealand First supports the recommendation to the Governor-General that Professor Ron Paterson be appointed as an Ombudsman for a 5-year term commencing on 4 June 2013.

The Ombudsmen provide a vital service for our parliamentary democracy. Their checks and their scrutiny ensure that the Government and its agencies do not subvert or mislead the general public. This year we have had a number of examples that demonstrated the importance of ensuring open, transparent, and accountable government. We have been reminded that the greatest threat to our democracy lies in secrecy and the abuse of power that occurs when the public is denied its right to know. It appears, however, to New Zealand First that the Ombudsmen are regrettably under-resourced, and we would like to see that addressed as soon as possible.

We believe in both accountability and transparency. Therefore, we support this recommendation for appointment and, of course, we wish Mr Paterson well in the office of Ombudsman over the next 5 years.

Mr Speaker, thank you for at last heeding my request for a call. The reason I was seeking a call in this debate was because I was part of the panel of people who interviewed Dr Paterson. I was also part of the panel that interviewed his predecessor, and I think that one of the outstanding features of this appointment is that Dr Paterson comes to it with a very clear vision of the role he seeks to perform. He is aware of some of the challenges that the Office of the Ombudsmen faces, particularly in terms of the timeliness of responses to those seeking the Ombudsman’s intervention, and he had indicated to the panel a clear strategy for seeking to address those problems, which I think is a good, positive step forward. He does have an impressive background. His work as a Health and Disability Commissioner, I think, was not only seminal in terms of the development of that role but also influential, and it continues to influence the way in which the current incumbent of that office operates. I am confident that he will be an outstanding appointment, and I know that he will approach the job with relish, vigour, enthusiasm, and a real sense of justice for the individual who is seeking the intervention of that office.

I want, also, to make a comment about David McGee, because the appointment of Ron Paterson as an Ombudsman brings to a conclusion, at some point during the transition, a long, distinguished career of service to this Parliament by David McGee. He became our Deputy Clerk, I think, back in 1974. He was our Clerk for many, many years from around 1986 or 1987, and has now spent the last 5 years as an Ombudsman. That is an unparalleled record of public service. One of the things that has always distinguished David McGee, in my view, both when he was a parliamentary officer and now as a wider Officer of Parliament, has been a sense of fairness, a sense of justice, huge integrity, and a massive sense of discretion. They are qualities, I think, that we should recognise and remember, and we should thank him and wish him well for his future. So congratulations to Ron Paterson on his appointment, and thanks to David McGee for jobs well done over the years.

I support the appointment of Ron Paterson as an Ombudsman for a 5-year term commencing in June. His role will be to handle complaints against Government agencies, undertake investigations and inspections, and encourage good administration by giving feedback and training through agencies. He will also initiate his own investigations where there is a need—independent and impartial, with a focus on fairness for all.

I would also like to thank David McGee not only for his service as Ombudsman but also for his exemplary service as Clerk of the House for Parliament. My thanks go to him. Thank you.

Motion agreed to.