Enhancing public reporting on Covid-19 related funding and expenditure
4 May 2022: We have written to the Treasury about its continuing engagement with the Office on the Treasury’s data releases concerning the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund.
Draft annual plan 2022/23
29 April 2022: We seek your views on our proposed annual work programme for 2022/23. Feedback is requested by Friday 27 May 2022.
Response to a letter about spending on mental health and addiction services
29 April 2022: We have replied to Matt Doocey MP about his request we inquire into the Government's 2019 $1.9 billion investment into mental health and addiction services.
Tertiary education institutions: What we saw in 2021
14 April 2022: This report expands on the main findings from our 2020 audits of tertiary education institutions and provides our observations on the tertiary education sector in 2021. It focuses on two key areas – the ongoing vocational education reform programme and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tertiary education sector.
Inquiry into the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme
31 March 2022: Concerns were raised in the media and our Office about how the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme (STAPP) was managed. Because of these concerns, and the amount of public money involved, we carried out an inquiry into the STAPP eligibility criteria for funding and the process for assessing funding applications.
Queenstown Lakes District Council – Development of Lakeview land
24 March 2022: We have replied to Mr Peter Newport, Managing Editor of Crux Publishing Limited, about his concern regarding the decision of Queenstown Lakes District Council to sell the block of land known as Lakeview.
Submission on amendments to the Code of Ethics for Non-Assurance Services
24 March 2022: In October last year, we sent a submission to the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board on Exposure Draft 2021-4, Amendments to Professional and Ethical Standard 1: Non-Assurance Services.
Submission on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill
22 March 2022: Our submission to the Pae Ora Legislation Committee on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill.
Controller update: July to December 2021
17 March 2022: Almost all government spending for the first six months of 2021/22 has been properly authorised and was within the law. There were three instances in which the Government incurred expenditure without having the correct authority in place.
Commentary on He Tirohanga Mokopuna 2021
15 March 2022: We reviewed the Treasury's He Tirohanga Mokopuna 2021 to look at how well it had identified long-term insights about challenges and opportunities and integrated them into a view of the Government’s long-term financial position.
Implementation of recommendations – Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine
10 March 2022: This letter describes the actions that the Ministry of Health has taken to respond to the recommendations we made in our report Preparations for the nationwide roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, and our observations on progress towards achieving equity of access to vaccinations.
No financial interests in Hood Aerodrome decision
24 February 2022: We were asked to look into potential issues with a mayor and councillor voting on a plan for Hood Aerodrome. After considering the information we needed, we do not consider they had a financial interest in the decision.
Analysis of activity on the Prime Minister’s Facebook page
20 January 2022: David Seymour MP wrote to us asking us to inquire into a decision to spend money on analysis of the Prime Minister’s Facebook page.
