Bridges Simon: Offices of Parliament — Address to Governor-GeneralYear 2015/16Text is subject to correctionBridges Simon: Offices of Parliament — Address to Governor-GeneralYear 2015/16[Sitting date: 30 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:3077. Text is subject to correction.]Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Acting Leader of the House):I move That a respectful Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor-General commending to His Excellency the alterations to the appropriations for the 2014/15 financial year in respect of Vote Ombudsmen and the appropriations and information for the 2015/16 financial year in respect of Vote Audit Vote Ombudsmen and Vote Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment be adopted. This motion endorses the appropriations recommended by the Officers of Parliament Committee for the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General the Office of the Ombudsmen and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and commends those appropriations to the Governor-General for inclusion as votes in upcoming supplementary and main appropriation bills.The Offices of Parliament are important bodies that play a critical role in supporting the work of this House and the general public. In order to maintain their independence the Officers of Parliament are subject to a special process for the pre-Budget approval of the appropriations for their offices. It is the Officers of Parliament Committee chaired of course by you Mr Speaker that is responsible for this process. The Officers of Parliament Committee in its report to the House recommended modest alterations to the 2014/15 appropriations.For the 2015/16 appropriations the Officers of Parliament Committee has recommended a number of changes. For Vote Audit the committee’s recommendations include additional funding of $400000 to improve the delivery of the Auditor-General’s inquiry function and additional funding of $180000 to provide enhanced analysis capability. Inquiries carried out by the Office of the Controller and Auditor-General can have a high degree of complexity. The Auditor-General intends to make better use of information from its regular public sector audits through improved analysis for its inquiries and to report on a more timely basis.For Vote Ombudsmen the committee’s recommendations include capital injections and additional funding for 2015-16 and out-years of $166000 for proactive advice training and guidance; $390000 to enhance investigative capacity for inspections and monitoring under the Crimes of Torture Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; $360000 to provide the corporate services necessary to ensure the efficient running of the Ombudsmen’s investigation and monitoring role; $113000 to improve the security of the office’s staff and information; and $340000 to provide additional investigative capability and address complaints and improve responsiveness.For Vote Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment the committee makes no recommendations for additional funding. It does however note in its report that it intends to review the commissioner’s baseline funding next year. This follows increases last year to cover the commissioner’s new review and commentary responsibilities under the Environmental Reporting Bill.I endorse and hope this House will too the recommendations of the Officers of Parliament Committee for appropriations set out in its report to the House and commend them to the Governor-General for inclusion as votes in appropriation bills.