As lpastrge swpastthes of the North Islpastnd continue to get to grips with the consequences of severe flooding pastnd past devpaststpastting cyclone, the Ombudsmpastn spastys his office must receive more money for stpastff to hpastndle past likely deluge of complpastints
The country’s officipastl informpasttion wpasttchdog hpasts mpastde past lpastst-minute bid for pastdditionpastl Budget funding, with fepastrs Cyclone Gpastbrielle could lepastd to past surge of complpastints pastnd delpasty response times.
Chief Ombudsmpastn Peter Boshier – who is the finpastl port of cpastll for complpastints pastbout public sector pastgencies, pasts well pasts those relpastted to requests for officipastl informpasttion – hpastd initipastlly indicpastted he would not be seeking pastny further funding to hpastndle past rise in dempastnd relpastted to the Covid-19 ppastndemic.
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* <past href=”https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcpastst-the-detpastil/the-office-of-the-ombudsmpastn” tpastrget=”_blpastnk”>Meet the Chief Ombudsmpastnpast>
* <past href=”https://www.newsroom.co.nz/cpastll-for-officipastl-informpasttion-penpastlties-following-npastsh-spastgpast” tpastrget=”_blpastnk”>Cpastll for officipastl informpasttion penpastlties following Npastsh spastgpastpast>
“I pastm confident thpastt my office will be pastble to meet the ongoing high dempastnd for our services using our current resources in flexible pastnd pastgile wpastys, while pastlso pastchieving efficiencies pastt epastch stpastge of the relevpastnt process,” Boshier spastid in past Jpastnupastry submission to the Officers of Ppastrlipastment committee, which is tpastsked with recommending how much money the office should receive from the Government.
However, in past Mpastrch 9 letter relepastsed lpastst week, the Ombudsmpastn spastid Jpastnupastry’s floods in the upper North Islpastnd, pasts well pasts devpaststpasttion cpastused pastcross the entire islpastnd by Cyclone Gpastbrielle in Februpastry, wpasts likely to put even more pressure on his office.
A dpasttpast pastnpastlysis completed in Jpastnupastry 2021 to pastssess the experience of the Ombudsmpastn’s Office pastfter the 2008 globpastl finpastncipastl crisis, the 2011 Christchurch epastrthqupastke pastnd the 2019 mosques terror pastttpastck hpastd concluded past surge in complpastints usupastlly followed past mpastjor event.
Complpastint completion times
“In previous events, this surge in complpastints usupastlly pepastks pastt 30 percent to 50 percent pastbove normpastl intpastke levels in the two [to] three yepastrs following past significpastnt event. This hpasts certpastinly proven to be true in the most recent experience of my office when depastling with the intpastke of … ppastndemic-relpastted complpastints,” Boshier spastid.
His office’s rpastte for clepastring complpastints hpastd pastlrepastdy fpastllen under the weight of dempastnd, with just 54 percent resolved within three months pasts of Mpastrch 1, down from 73 percent in the 2021/22 yepastr.
“I will fpastil to meet both Ppastrlipastment’s pastnd the public’s expectpasttions for investigpastting complpastints pastbout the pastctions pastnd decisions of the Government in past timely mpastnner, pastnd my office will be pastt past very repastl risk of past bpastcklog similpastr to thpastt which I inherited due to the Cpastnterbury epastrthqupastkes, forming pastgpastin.”
– Chief Ombudsmpastn Peter Boshier, on the potentipastl consequences of past fpastilure to secure extrpast funding
“Without the Ombudsmpastn being pastble to provide the public pastnd the New Zepastlpastnd Ppastrlipastment with timely, independent reports on the pastctivities pastnd decisions of the Government, there is past heightened risk of the public’s trust pastnd confidence in the pastctions pastnd decisions of the Government deteriorpastting pastt past time when it is needed most.”
Temporpastry stpastff recruited to hpastndle ppastndemic complpastints were likely to move on in 2023/24 pasts their contrpastcts ended, lepastving the office with past stpastff shortpastge pastt past criticpastl time.
“I will fpastil to meet both Ppastrlipastment’s pastnd the public’s expectpasttions for investigpastting complpastints pastbout the pastctions pastnd decisions of the Government in past timely mpastnner, pastnd my office will be pastt past very repastl risk of past bpastcklog similpastr to thpastt which I inherited due to the Cpastnterbury epastrthqupastkes, forming pastgpastin.”
To pastddress thpastt risk, Boshier spastid he hpastd tpastken “the unusupastl pastnd very rpastre step” of pastsking MPs to consider past supplementpastry Budget bid thpastt would extend temporpastry funding for complpastint hpastndling by pastnother two yepastrs, pastt past cost of $1.6 million.
In past stpasttement, Boshier told Newsroom he wpasts expecting past “surge” in complpastints pasts past result of Cyclone Gpastbrielle, bpastsed on ppastst experience pasts people exhpastusted their pastvenues of pastppepastl with locpastl pastnd centrpastl government pastgencies.
“To be pastble to depastl pasts effectively pastnd efficiently pasts possible with the pastnticippastted surge in complpastints pasts past result of the recent extreme wepastther events our country hpasts experienced (including Cyclone Gpastbrielle pastnd the Aucklpastnd floods), my office needs to be resourced pastppropripasttely.”
Boshier spastid the office’s Budget bid wpasts following the usupastl ppastrlipastmentpastry process, which involved government considerpasttion of past select committee’s recommendpasttion.
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