In 2019, we looked at how effectively Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland were managing freshwater quality. We followed up with all four regional councils and spoke with iwi and hapū representatives to see what progress the regional councils had made in response to recommendations we made in 2019 about managing freshwater quality.
3 May 2024: We wrote to the University of Waikato about the procurement of services from Joyce Advisory Services in 2019.
14 June 2023: We asked the Ministry for the Environment, Statistics New Zealand, Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland for an update on their response to recommendations we made in 2019 about managing freshwater quality.
2 September 2021: We have replied to Simeon Brown MP about his concerns about the koha given by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner at a hui organised by the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom chapter.
September 2019: This report outlines the findings of our inquiry into the decision of Waikato District Health Board, in 2015, to enter into a contract with the United States-based company HealthTap Inc to provide "virtual care" services through an online service.
September 2019: We looked at the operational approach of the Waikato River Authority to restoring and protecting the Waikato and Waipā Rivers for additional insight into how different entities manage Crown funds.
September 2019: We examined how the Ministry for the Environment administered four Crown freshwater clean-up funds for improving lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Our primary objective was to assess whether Crown funding was being used effectively to improve freshwater quality.
September 2019: In 2011, we published a report on how effectively Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland managed the effects of land use on freshwater quality in their regions. We found that the effectiveness of the four regional councils' approaches was variable. In this report, we assess the progress they have made since 2011.
January 2019: Audit New Zealand (a business unit of the Controller and Auditor-General) was asked by the chairman of Waikato Institute of Technology to carry out additional assurance work in conjunction with the 2017 annual audit. This report sets out Audit New Zealand's findings about certain travel expenses and redundancy and severance payments.
December 2018: Protecting and conserving marine ecosystems while balancing competing interest groups in the Hauraki Gulf is challenging. We looked at a project aiming to create New Zealand's first marine spatial plan, which would create a healthy, productive, and sustainable future for the Gulf...
December 2018: We looked at how Dunedin City Council, Porirua City Council, and Thames-Coromandel District Council manage their stormwater systems to protect people and their property from the effects of flooding.
Instigating a customer-service programme and team-building approach reduces call-response times.
November 2009: Although our findings are of greatest interest to people in the Thames-Coromandel district, we note that most local authorities have extensive land holdings. Our findings from this inquiry reinforce the importance for all local authorities to have in place effective systems and processes to manage their land well on behalf of their communities...
Local Authorities Working Together.
July 2001: This report contains our findings regarding a complaint made by the Concerned Citizens of the Coromandel Peninsula about certain actions of the Thames Coromandel District Council. Although the complaint raised over 50 issues, our report addresses only those issues that we considered to be most significant...
June 2001: We believe that other local authorities will find the discussion of the issues dealt with in this report helpful when faced with making similar decisions...
Regional councils’ relationships with iwi and hapu for freshwater management – a follow-up report
