Tolley Anne: Motions — Ombudsmen Office—50th Anniversary of Establishment 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Tolley Anne: Motions — Ombudsmen Office—50th Anniversary of Establishment 
[Sitting date: 27 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5737. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Deputy Leader of the House) 
: 
 Following discussion in the Business Committee I seek leave to move Government motion No. 1. I move that this House place on record— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I had better put that leave to the House. Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I move  
That this House place on record that 1 October marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of Ombudsmen in New Zealand the first in an English-speaking country and a model for the spread of the office throughout the world and note the important contribution that the office makes to the preservation of administrative justice in this country 
. 
The Government is pleased to recognise the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsmen. The concept originated in Sweden in the early 19th century. The Swedish Ombudsmen had jurisdiction over almost all national and municipal officials who could be disciplined and even prosecuted for incorrect behaviour. Champions for establishing the Ombudsman in New Zealand included National Party politicians John or Jack Marshall and Ralph Hanan. 
The Office of the Ombudsmen in New Zealand was established under the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act 1962 as an independent office protected by the authority of Parliament. This set an international precedent as in other countries Ombudsmen were appointed by the Government. The first Ombudsman Sir Guy Powles a former lawyer soldier and diplomat was sworn in on 1 October 1962. He held the office until 1977. His performance made the institution widely respected and its authority and scope were extended. The Ombudsmen Act 1975 allowed the appointment of several Ombudsmen and their jurisdiction was extended to statutory boards and local government. Successive legislation has solidified the Ombudsmen’s position. The 1982 Official Information Act the 1987 Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act the Protected Disclosures Act 2000 and the Crown Entities Act 2004 have all added to the transparency of governing. 
New Zealand has been blessed to have had a succession of successful and influential Ombudsmen: Sir Guy Powles Sir George Laking Eaton Hurley Lester Castle Sir John Robertson Nadja Tollemache who was New Zealand’s first Ombudswoman Susan Richards Sir Brian Elwood the Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand Mel Smith John Belgrave and the two current Ombudsmen Dame Beverley Wakem and David McGee. So on this 50th anniversary we congratulate them on all they do for New Zealand and we look forward to the next 50 years. 
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
: 
 Since its creation half a century ago the Office of the Ombudsmen has been occupied by a number of truly gifted New Zealanders. The Deputy Leader of the House named them and many of those names resonate with us still: Powles our last Governor of Samoa; Laking our ambassador to Washington in the years of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations; Robertson a former State Services Commissioner Secretary of Defence and Secretary for Justice; Satyanand a District Court judge who would go on to be Governor-General; Smith a former Secretary for Justice; Belgrave a former Secretary for Justice and also Secretary of Commerce State Services Commissioner and Comptroller of Customs; McGee a long-serving and distinguished Clerk of this House; and last but of course not least Wakem previously Chief Executive of Radio New Zealand and a member of the Higher Salaries Commission. These have all been Officers of Parliament of significant stature who have served the public and our Parliament with distinction since 1962. 
The Ombudsmen perform an extremely important role. As we look forward to the work of the office over the next 50 years we must all take seriously our responsibility as parliamentarians to ensure that it is properly resourced to do its job and that we treat the office and its staff with the respect and the compliance that the law properly demands. The Labour Opposition is pleased to support the motion.