Foss Craig: Appointments — Controller and Auditor-General 
Foss Craig: Appointments — Controller and Auditor-General 
[Volume:656;Page:5767] 
CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki) 
: 
 I rise to speak in favour of the motion. National supports the motion that Mrs Lyn Provost be the new Controller and Auditor-General. 
First of all and as previous speakers have noted I wish to acknowledge other members of the Officers of Parliament Committee of which I am a member and the chair of the subcommittee that was put in charge of this process of recommending this appointment to Mr Speaker. I also wish to thank the independent advisers and the officials who assisted us greatly—there was quite a large group of people. They made our job a bit easier at the end of the day with their advice and we are thankful to them. 
I acknowledge and pay tribute to the outgoing Controller and Auditor-General Mr Kevin Brady. Mr Brady was born in Oamaru and he joined the Audit Office in 1971. He has been in the system for quite some time and has worked in various roles with the Audit Office. In the 1980s he was a regional director with the Audit Office in Wellington and in Palmerston North. He was appointed Assistant Auditor-General in 1988. He was appointed Deputy Controller and Auditor-General in February 2000 and was appointed Controller and Auditor-General in 2002. Mr Brady was responsible for several major reports on behalf of the office. 
Mr Brady’s efforts in the local government area were recognised in 1996 when he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr Brady also received the Richard Ratliff Award in 2006 which was awarded by the Institute of Internal Auditors New Zealand for his outstanding contribution to the promotion and practice of internal auditing. He has been an executive member of the South Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions and has in that role coordinated major trainee programmes for auditors from various South Pacific countries. 
The Auditor-General engages with the committees of this Parliament. Mostly the Audit Office engages with the Finance and Expenditure Committee of which I have been a member since 2005 and I am now chair of that committee in this new Parliament. I acknowledge Mr Brady and on behalf of the other members of the committee in the previous Parliament and in this one I am sure I thank him for the way in which he has engaged himself and his tight leadership team with the direction the clarity the assistance and even the pointers in many instances that he has given our committee on various issues the office has looked at or perhaps felt it necessary that they should be pursued further. 
An earlier speaker picked up on a bit of a hobby horse of the retiring Controller and Auditor-General—his interest in the International Financial Reporting Standards. A report was tabled today by the Finance and Expenditure Committee and I am sure Mr Brady will be pleased to know that the committee is continuing to examine that issue and has picked up the Audit Office’s most recent report on the appropriateness of those International Financial Reporting Standards to some of New Zealand’s public sector accounting reporting areas. 
I am sure that New Zealand taxpayers and New Zealand citizens would also join me in thanking Mr Brady and his office for their constant vigilance of the assets of the Government and of central and local government processes and for their accountability and responsibility for the wealth of the citizens of New Zealand of which they are in charge. I am also confident that the new Controller and Auditor-General Mrs Lyn Provost will continue that very very high standard. I look forward to seeing the work programmes that she may be picking up on continuing or starting. I say that quite genuinely. I am looking forward as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee of this Government and of Parliament to working with Mrs Provost when we engage in official business. 
The Officers of Parliament Committee which I am a member of has recommended Mrs Lyn Provost for the position of Controller and Auditor-General. She is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the resource management area which is a position she has held for the past 8 years. I am sure that the Minister of Police will not mind my saying that she will be sorely missed from the New Zealand Police in respect of the value she has added the work she has done and some of the new standards that she has set. 
Other speakers have touched on some of the things that Mrs Provost has been responsible for in the New Zealand Police. I would just like to touch on those also. Most important she has restored some confidence in the ability of many of the central agencies of the police to manage extensive information and communications technology systems after there were some issues with the previous computer system and she was responsible for the seamless migration from the old Wanganui law enforcement system to a new national intelligence application. Mrs Provost has overseen the digital radio project to replace the police’s outgoing and ageing analog radio system. 
 Mrs Provost has played a significant part in the initial police response to the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct by mobilising the team to effectively and efficiently stocktake and analyse many years’ worth of historical files and to provide the commission with coherent and timely responses to its inquiries. Mrs Provost has also been responsible for leading a radical overhaul of the 50-year-old Police Act and for sponsoring the introduction of a code of conduct for all staff. She was also responsible for the introduction of a leadership development framework to grow a new generation of police leaders. I think it goes without saying that with that small track record of those few items I have mentioned the House can have much confidence in the direction and standards that Mrs Provost will bring to her new role. 
Prior to being Deputy Commissioner of Police Mrs Provost held various roles in the public sector. She was Acting Chief Executive of Archives New Zealand branch manager of the State Services Commission and Assistant Controller and Auditor-General from 1993 to 1995. As Minister Dunne noted earlier it was always an ambition of hers to one day become the Controller and Auditor-General of New Zealand. That dream of hers has come to pass and I am very pleased to have had a role in making that happen assuming that the House votes in favour of the motion. 
The role of Auditor-General is very very important. The independence of the Auditor-General is one of the key pillars of our democracy. 
The Auditor-General like all Public Service entities and Officers of Parliament is required by the Public Finance Act 1989 to present to the House an annual report at the end of each financial year. The annual report enables the Auditor-General to explain to Parliament and to the public what he or she has done and how well the Audit Office has performed during the year. It includes financial and non-financial information and discusses the extent to which the office has achieved its goals for that year. 
With this interface with the House in our process once the annual report of the Controller and Auditor-General is presented to the House the financial review of the office stands referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. The select committee examines the performance and operations of the office over the previous financial year and reports back to the House. During the Budget process the select committee also examines the estimates of Vote Audit. 
Hon Shane Jones 
: The magpie is a hoha. 
CRAIG FOSS 
: That gentleman who is wearing a somewhat short tie might stand and make some comments in a minute. Just quietly I notice he is wearing a black and white tie so he is supporting the Magpies. 
The Office of the Controller and Auditor-General has a very serious and important role. It sets policy and standards undertakes strategic audit planning appoints auditors and oversees their performance undertakes performance audits authorises approvals under the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968 and responds to inquiries from ratepayers taxpayers and members of Parliament. The office is very very accessible to members of the public and to this House. I endorse the motion and look forward to working with Mrs Provost as the new Controller and Auditor-General. Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. 
Motion agreed to.