Announcements from 2021

14 December 2021: An inquiry by the Auditor-General has found significant deficiencies in the way the Ministry of Social Development paid for private rental properties to be used as emergency housing.

3 December 2021: A report today from the Auditor-General sends a reminder that every public organisation must be able to show how and when it has spent public money, to enable the public to have confidence in how their money is spent.

17 November 2021: Organisations need to work together to address the complex and systemic challenges in the housing system that are contributing to negative health, education, economic, and social outcomes for New Zealanders. We're looking at how well placed Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is to provide leadership across the housing and urban development system.

4 November 2021: Supporting better outcomes and well-being for Māori is a priority for the Government. Our performance audit will look at the arrangements put in place to deliver programmes to support improved outcomes for Māori by examining three government initiatives.

4 November 2021: Whānau Ora is an approach that supports whānau and families to build on their strengths to achieve their aspirations in life. We’re looking at how well the public sector supports the Whānau Ora approach.

18 October 2021: We have completed almost all audits with 30 June balance dates that were required to report by 30 September 2021. We remain on track to complete district health board, nearly all council, and larger public organisations’ audits that had statutory reporting time frames extended by Parliament.

22 September 2021: The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has committed to stop inappropriate and harmful behaviour in the organisation. We are reviewing NZDF's progress in creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all.

31 August 2021: The Government needs to clarify how it intends to meet its commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030.

8 July 2021: Parliament has passed a Bill to extend by two months the statutory reporting time frames in the Crown Entities Act 2004 and the Local Government Act 2002. The Bill will come into law once it has received Royal Assent.

6 July 2021: There is a bill before the House to extend the time frames for audits of Crown entities with end-of-year balance dates of 30 June, and annual reporting requirements of local authorities and council-controlled organisations.

10 March 2021: It's vital that any spending of public money delivers good value for New Zealanders. The spending currently planned for a range of infrastructure projects is considerable. Along with the spending announced as part of the Covid-19 response, it's once-in-a-lifetime spending that will have cost implications for generations to come.

25 February 2021: New Zealand is at a critical point in its Covid-19 response. An effective vaccination programme is essential to protect the safety and well-being of the public, and to limit the economic costs of community outbreaks and border closures.

23 February 2021: The Government’s response to Covid-19 has required close co-ordination between many different government agencies. We’re looking at how well co-ordinated the response has been, and how lessons learned through the response to date have been implemented.

5 February 2021: The Auditor-General, John Ryan, has decided to carry out an inquiry into aspects of the Government’s Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme. This is the background and terms of reference for the inquiry.