Appointments — Controller and Auditor-General

I move, That, under section 7(2) and in accordance with clause 1 of Schedule 3 of the Public Audit Act 2001, the House recommend to the Governor-General that Grant James Taylor be appointed as Controller and Auditor-General for a term not exceeding seven years, commencing on 3 July 2025.

Mr Taylor is a chartered accountant and licensed auditor with years of experience in both the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General and in the private sector as a managing partner for Ernst & Young. He will become our 21st Auditor-General in office, which was first appointed in 1846.

I also want to congratulate and thank John Ryan, the outgoing Auditor-General, for his great contributions.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I would like to endorse the appointment of Grant Taylor as Auditor-General. This is something that only happens once every seven years, so I think it behoves the House to know a little bit about this job and how we’ve arrived here.

Like most members of Parliament, the first real understanding we have of the role is when we arrive and we go to select committee and we’re about to review the Minister or the ministry and all of a sudden, this mysterious organisation arrives and gives us some questions, tells us what we should be answering, and what we should be asking, more importantly. As a result, we understand the importance of an independent organisation reviewing Government spending.

The process of appointing this role is an important one. I have to congratulate my fellow members of the Officers of Parliament Committee, made up of members of all parties here.

Now, you might think that would perhaps risk a political decision. I can absolutely reassure the House that this was a search for the right person for this job as a result of an absolute understanding of the importance of the role. Chaired by the Speaker, I can actually give that assurance that we have arrived at a decision that has put the right person in this role for the next seven years, Grant Taylor.

The role itself—it’s quite a role. There are over 3,600 entities which are actually examined either directly or through the books of the Auditor-General’s office. Obviously, that work’s not all carried out by the office, but they ensure that the work is done, and they contract the work. In fact, Mr Taylor in his role at Ernst & Young (EY) was responsible for overseeing many of those audits. As a result—of course—he has a good knowledge of not only the role of the Auditor-General, but in fact the organisations which he has been auditing, many on contract on behalf of EY. In fact, he did actually work for the Auditor-General’s office early in his career.

In ensuring that we bring someone to this role, which is a key role in New Zealand overseeing Government spending, it is someone that has that innate understanding of how New Zealand works. Mr Taylor is certainly that man. One thing that did attract me from his CV is he’s a Naenae College boy—State house boy from the Hutt Valley. That, again, shows, I think, in appointing someone to this role that New Zealand still is a country where anybody can rise to the top if they’re given the right opportunity, and certainly Mr Taylor was given that.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I can stand and reassure the House and those who will be meeting Mr Taylor for the first time—particularly at select committees when he will be advising on how to make sure that Ministers are given the right questions and on behalf of their ministries—that I actually have total confidence that we have the right man for the job. Therefore, I am very pleased to commend this appointment of Mr Grant Taylor to the House as Auditor-General.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand to speak on the appointment of the Controller and Auditor-General. Like the previous speaker mentioned, the Controller and Auditor-General has a vital role when it comes to safeguarding the financial integrity of Aotearoa’s parliamentary system of Government, and the Controller and Auditor-General is someone who leads the team that supports a lot of the work that we do here in Parliament, particularly when it comes to select committees.

In terms of the appointment itself, the current Controller and Auditor-General is John Ryan, who began in 2018. Again, we would just like the opportunity to thank Mr Ryan for his many years of public service. Best wishes for his future. In terms of the appointee, Grant James Taylor, as the previous speaker has mentioned, Mr Taylor is already a chartered accountant and a licensed auditor and a former managing partner for Ernst & Young. Although from the private sector, he has worked and collaborated with the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General for many, many years.

Also, in terms of the process, again, I would like to thank all of the members of the Officers of Parliament Committee for the robust process that we had when we were looking to find the right person for the role. Again, like the previous speaker, Greg O’Connor, has mentioned as well, this is something that we do take incredibly seriously, and it’s something that all members of the Officers of Parliament Committee take very seriously and collaboratively to try and find the right person for this particular role.

With that, we do thank everyone who has expressed an interest in the Controller and Auditor-General. We welcome the appointment of Grant James Taylor, and we commend this appointment to the House.

Motion agreed to.