Appointments — Ombudsman and Chief Ombudsman

on behalf of the Leader of the House: I move, That, pursuant to sections 3(1), 3(4) and 5(1) of the Ombudsmen Act 1975, Peter Francis Boshier be appointed as an Ombudsman for a term of 5 years, with effect from 10 December 2015, and upon taking up the office of Ombudsman, he be appointed as Chief Ombudsman with effect from the date that the incumbent Chief Ombudsman vacates the position. Today I rise to move a motion that recommends the appointment of Judge Peter Boshier to replace Dame Beverley Wakem as an Ombudsman. Dame Beverley has served this country as Ombudsman since 23 November 2007. I would like to place on record our thanks for her many years of service in this important role.

The Office of the Ombudsmen is not only an important organ of State; it is also an advocate for the protections that New Zealanders expect inside our democracy. It is an organisation that is able to conduct, free of charge, examinations into all manner of requests from the public that relate to the activities of governance in this country. It is also the organisation that has the greatest influence on the application of the Official Information Act. The organisation therefore has to have people of the highest calibre and highest integrity working within its office. Judge Boshier is well-qualified to become an Ombudsman. He holds an LLB (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington and has practised in Wellington since 1975. In 1988 he was appointed a District Court judge. In 2004 Judge Boshier was appointed Principal Family Court Judge, and he was in that role until December 2012. He is currently a law commissioner.

The position of Ombudsman was widely advertised throughout New Zealand, and the Officers of Parliament Committee has acknowledged the high calibre of applicants for the position. Judge Boshier was unanimously supported by the committee members. I want to thank them for their work and wish Judge Boshier all the best for his term as Ombudsman.

I rise to place on record Labour’s support for this appointment. I do want to very briefly pay tribute to Dame Beverley Wakem, not only for the time she spent as Chief Ombudsman but also for a career of many, many years in the broader State sector. She has made an enormous contribution.

I have known Judge Boshier since he was a law student. Our paths have crossed on a number of occasions—but not to the extent of my having appeared. Peter Boshier is a man of quiet integrity. He is someone who has shown an ability to lead a team. I think it is fair to say that herding Family Court judges is something that is not particularly easy, and he managed to work some reforms and do some improvements over a period of years, which showed tact and discretion but also a bit of steady leadership when that was necessary. He is currently a law commissioner. He is widely respected in the Pacific and has done work there. I am sure that he is very, very suitable to do this job. As the Minister moving the motion for Mr Brownlee, the Hon Jo Goodhew, indicated, it was a decision that in the end the Officers of Parliament Committee came to relatively easily.

But I think it is also fair to say and to place on record that any of the applicants who were shortlisted and interviewed could have been appointed, and in a different field they may well have been appointed. This was a position that was sought by people with a range of experience and people of very good standing in our community. I am pleased that the Office of the Ombudsmen still holds an attraction for people of that sort of integrity. I think it bodes well for the future.

There is one point I will disagree with the Government on, and that is whether it is the Office of the Ombudsmen that has the most influence over the workings of the Official Information Act. That is just not correct. It is the leadership of the Government that is most important in that, and I think that that is something that would be good for the new Chief Ombudsman and both this Government and the next Government to reflect on. Thank you.

I rise on behalf of the Green Party to give our support for this Government motion appointing Peter Boshier to the position of Chief Ombudsman. Like Trevor Mallard said before me, I have had some dealings with him and have found him to be excellent. I believe he will be a superb appointment to this role. I also want to place on record our party’s thanks for the work that Dame Beverley Wakem has carried out in this role until now. The role of ombudsmen is a crucial one in democracies such as ours. It is a Swedish idea. It comes from the sense that citizens need some kind of backstop protection against potential excesses of the executive arm of Government.

In her contribution, Jo Goodhew mentioned the role of the ombudsmen in relation to the Official Information Act. It is no secret that the Green Party has been concerned that the use of that Act has become more problematic as, to our mind, Government departments and arms of the executive part of Government have frustrated the use of that Act by declining Official Information Act requests. There has been a suspicion that that underperformance in relation to the responsibilities of the Official Information Act has been assisted by an underfunding of the Office of the Ombudsmen, leaving the ombudsmen with less capacity to respond to those problems.

Like Trevor Mallard said before me, I think that when Peter Boshier assumes his new role as the Chief Ombudsman his scrutiny on that matter may be useful, but, equally, it may be that that is not the only reason for delays in responding to complaints to the Office of the Ombudsmen. The Green Party certainly would appreciate the opportunity for some kind of independent review of not only those funding matters but also the operation of the Office of the Ombudsmen. Is everything being done that should be done to ensure that the ombudsmen’s functions are able to be carried out with the least impediment possible? We would advocate that cause to the incoming Chief Ombudsman.

So, with those remarks, I echo my earlier expression of support for the Government’s motion and congratulate Peter Boshier on his appointment.

Motion agreed to.

Deputy Controller and Auditor-General