Urgent Debates Declined — Report of the Controller and Auditor-General—Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki Procurement and Contract Management

Members, I’ve received a letter from Kahurangi Carter seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the findings in the report of the Controller and Auditor-General Oranga Tamariki: Inquiry into procurement and contract management. There is no ministerial responsibility for reports of an Officer of Parliament; the Speaker is deemed responsible for them—Speakers’ ruling 218/1-4. However, where a report from an Officer of Parliament deals with a matter for which the Government is responsible, Speakers have allowed urgent debates. Generally, that has been where the Government has announced a response to the report. No substantive Government action in response to the report has been indicated in the member’s application. While the issue is an important one, it doesn’t reach the standard for urgency required to warrant the setting aside of the business of the House today. The application is declined.

I also received a letter from the Hon Willow-Jean Prime on the same matter, and, for the same reasons, the application is declined.