2012/13

August 2012: This report sets out our conclusions on our inquiry into the dispute between the Far North District Council and the Mayor of the Council, Mr Wayne Brown, about the rates and other charges owed by Mr Brown's company, Waahi Paraone Limited.

August 2012: This report describes the history of education policy and developments for Māori, sets out some leading research and statistics, and describes the role of the various government agencies involved in education.

August 2012: Our inquiry found no evidence that Ms Pullar's approach to one of ACC's Board members affected her claim to ACC. However, the Board had no formal policy to guide Board members on communication with individual claimants, a deficiency it is rectifying.

September 2012: We carried out a performance audit to assess the progress that the Ministry of Health and district health boards have made since we published our December 2009 report, Effectiveness of arrangements to check the standard of services provided by rest homes.

October 2012: This report provides an objective view of how the Canterbury earthquake recovery is being run. It describes how the recovery is being carried out, the roles of agencies, how the recovery is being funded, and what the main risks and challenges are - for the agencies involved and for Cantabrians.

October 2012, ISSN 1179-8963 (print), ISSN 1179-8971 (online).

October 2012: Our Office's third report about how well the New Zealand Police are responding to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Police conduct...

December 2012: This report provides an overview of the results of our audits of education providers in 2011.

December 2012: This report sets out matters arising from our audits of the 2012-22 long-term plans prepared by local authorities.

December 2012: This report sets out our observations from interviews with more than 50 people who were involved in designing and implementing the Auckland local government reforms and are involved in the governance and management of the Auckland Council. It also draws on our own audit work with the Council.

December 2012: Findings of a performance audit that examined how well the Department of Conservation is prioritising work, and working in partnership with other agencies and groups to manage biodiversity.

December 2012: Public sector agencies told us that it can be hard to find out about the ideas and experiences of others - so we contacted agencies and asked for their success stories...

January 2013: To remain effective and conform with government policy, New Zealand Defence Force designed the civilianisation project to change the balance of its workforce. It aimed to get a higher proportion of military staff in "front" (deployable military capability) positions compared to direct and indirect support positions. Overall, in our view, the civilianisation project has had limited success...

February 2013: We have recommended that the Police improve how they assess, measure, and report on how effectively and efficiently they enforce drink driving laws...

February 2013: We have seen no evidence to suggest that the final decision to negotiate with SkyCity was influenced by any inappropriate considerations. However, we found a range of deficiencies in the advice that the Ministry provided and the steps that officials and Ministers took leading up to that decision. The quality of support that was provided fell short of what we would have expected from the lead government agency on commercial and procurement matters...

February 2013: We are concerned that the Ministry is under-prepared for future biosecurity incursions. Responding to incursions has taken precedence over preparing for the potential arrival of other pests and diseases. Although the Ministry is making improvements, there is still a lot to do...

March 2013: We found no evidence that there was any improper motive, collusion, or political interference in the decision to authorise citizenship for Mr Liu. However, we found reason to criticise most of those involved in different aspects of the decision-making process...

March 2013: This report provides an overview of the results of our audits of Crown research institutes in 2011/12.

March 2013, ISBN 978-0-478-41015-0 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-41016-7 (online).

March 2013, ISBN 978-0-478-41013-6 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-41014-3 (online)

April 2013: ISBN 978-0-478-41017-4 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-41018 (online).

April 2013: ISBN 978-0-478-41019-8 (print), ISBN 978-0-478-41020-4 (online).

May 2013, ISSN 1179-7347 (print), ISSN 1179-7355 (online).

May 2013: This is the second report in our five-year programme of audits examining the performance of the education system for Māori. We found reason for optimism that the Government’s strategy for education for Māori, Ka Hikitia, will increasingly enable Māori students to succeed. Ka Hikitia is a well-researched and well-consulted document that has the backing of Māori. However, there has been only modest improvement overall in Māori students’ academic results since Ka Hikitia was launched...

June 2013: This discussion paper explores international practices and current research in assessing and understanding public sector financial sustainability. The research concludes that financial sustainability is not a matter of subtracting expenses from revenue to find the gap. We need to sustain the services publicly expected, withstand shocks, and keep public confidence...

June 2013: We wanted to understand the public sector’s approach to combating child obesity, but the Ministry of Education and Sport New Zealand no longer focus on obesity to the extent they have in the past and the Ministry of Health was evaluating new ideas and approaches to combating obesity. These changing circumstances limited what my staff could usefully audit...

June 2013: The purpose of this paper is to provide a high-level view of the extent of insurance for many of the assets in the public sector and the main changes since 2010. By doing this, we hope to encourage further discussion by provoking relevant questions about insurance of public assets...

June 2013: The report sets out the results of our “stocktake” of the physical assets in the public sector. It provides an overview of those assets, their condition and value, maintenance and renewals, and what information is reported to decision-makers about these matters...

June 2013: This report shares what eight entities (seven public entities and one non-government organisation) have learned from using social media in different ways. It also draws out success factors from the experiences of these eight entities...

25 June 2013