BackThis is my last month in the role as Chief Ombudsman. Last week I received this Christmas note from a prisoner:
Dear people of the Ombudsmen … I would like to thank each and every one of you for the fine job you do with the resources available. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to your outgoing Chief, she has served your office well. I also hope her replacement carries on that same good and fair work for all.
This heart warming message made me reflect on the people I have served, and the way my staff and I have performed our functions. It did also cause me to wonder whether I have been more “outgoing” than some might have preferred on occasion during my 10 years in office! However speaking truth to power is the cornerstone of an Ombudsman’s function and so, to the extent that I may on occasion have ruffled executive feathers, I am unapologetic.
When I joined the Office in 2005, it was a very different place. At that time there were less than 7,000 complaints a year, and the jurisdiction was largely confined to reviewing government administrative actions and refusals to release official information. Since I have been in Office, complaints and contacts have risen to over 12,000 per year, and our jurisdiction has expanded into major new frontiers including monitoring places of detention under the Crimes of Torture Act, and monitoring compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
At the time of my arrival it was becoming apparent that our then business model could not be sustained. The then Chief Ombudsman John Belgrave had challenged us to reflect on where the Office was going and how this office could stay relevant. This resulted in a comprehensive examination of how we achieved our primary role of holding the state sector to account for excellence in service delivery. Since then, we have endeavoured to ensure that the Office meets best practice standards internationally. We adopted and adapted the best processes from the various Ombudsman Offices in Australia (of which there are many) and created a practice model which is now hailed as an international standard.
We have been provided with more resources to manage our burgeoning caseload, and in the 2015/2016 reporting year our staff numbers will increase to 81. We have appreciated the support of the Speaker and the Officers of Parliament Committee over the years, and in helping secure resourcing for our important functions.
When I first started in my role I could not have imagined the challenges the Office confronts daily. We deal with people who are frustrated from either trying to access information or seeking justice from an agency which they believe has wronged them. They are often in a heightened state of emotion, which can make on occasion for acrimonious communications. But we must not forget that we are here to assist those who have been victims of maladministration or wrongly denied information, and to try to improve administrative practices across the state sector. On days when we have got it right, whether by helping a refugee reunite with her imperilled loved ones, helping a prisoner unable to eat to access dentures, or assisting people to access information they were wrongfully denied, the job could not be more satisfying.
However change has been a constant factor as we continuously try to marshal our limited resources to meet the challenges of our exponentially growing workload in a manner that does not compromise the integrity of our processes. There is still work to be done, in particular more focused targeting of resources towards low level early resolutions. The soon to be released Official Information Act (“OIA”) own motion report will provide a more detailed blueprint for both internal and agency changes to create a best practice freedom of information regime.
During my tenure I have been fortunate to hold international Ombudsmen offices including Regional Vice President of the Australasia and Pacific Region of the International Ombudsman Institute, and President of the International Ombudsman Institute from 2010 to 2014. The sharing of practices internationally has been invaluable. I have been granted honorary life membership of the International Ombudsman Institute, which I fully intend to take advantage of.
I look back at my time in this role with some considerable satisfaction. New Zealand’s public sector continues to rank among the least corrupt in the world, second only to Denmark, in the Transparency International index, a standard that could not be achieved without an effective Ombudsman. I believe the Office is well positioned to meet its future challenges and to continue to assist in enhancing state sector transparency and effective decision making.
I wish my successor Judge Boshier all the very best in leading this Office into its next chapter.
Dame Beverley Wakem
Chief Ombudsman DNZM CBE
For the online version of this piece by Dame Beverly Wakem please click here
Source: National Ombudsman, New Zealand
