Flavell Te Ururoa: Appointments — Chief Ombudsman 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Appointments — Chief Ombudsman 
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TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Madam Speaker kia ora tatou. Three years ago Beverley Wakem addressed a ceremony in Wellington with the words “You will need to be well informed develop a sense of perspective what is the history of this and that what is going on behind and what is going on in front and what is the cause of this. Be curious be sceptical and don’t be sidetracked by political spin and be alert to the large responsibility you have in seeking the truth. And remember in the welter of technology which surrounds you that the most simple means of communication is still the best—people talking directly to people.” 
The occasion was the presentation of the 2005 Churches Broadcasting Commission scholarships and those words could just as easily have been applied to the role of Ombudsman. The Maori Party has enormous respect for those people who fill the shoes of the Ombudsman role. Their job is as other members have already said pretty difficult involving investigating complaints about the decisions of central and local government agencies and Ministers of the Crown and doing the legwork to seek out the truth. The list of complaints that can be received is pretty substantial from what I can see including benefit payments housing health immigration passports accident compensation prisons education taxation and child support and on and on it goes. 
To be able to respond to the demands of this position takes a special type of person and a particular set of skills. We in this House all appreciate just how unique these people are through our association with the former Clerk of the House Mr David McGee who after 34 years in this place when others would be thinking of a good holiday took on the challenge of the Ombudsman’s role. 
The Maori Party is happy to support the appointment of Beverley Wakem as the Chief Ombudsman. As noted earlier it takes a person of distinctive qualities to take up such a challenging role. In dealing with many agencies—and I am thinking particularly of prisons the police and Child Youth and Family—our whanau feel as if they are caught in the context whereby they either sink or swim or suffer. The Ombudsman helps them to swim and to restore their confidence that if there is injustice occurring the independent scrutiny of the Ombudsman will help to right the wrongs. 
Beverley Wakem is no stranger to challenge. Beverley brings a remarkable reputation to the role having had significant management and governance experience across a range of performing arts institutes insurance savings and remuneration bodies as the general manger of Wrightson Ltd executive chairman of Hill and Knowlton and an associate member of the Institute of Directors. She has also made her mark on the national scene by being unafraid to ask the hard questions in order to search out the truth—or at least for a more positive outcome. 
As chief executive of Radio New Zealand she engaged in a public fight over gender issues when she banned a list of 140 sexist terms of abuse from news and advertising. In the same role in 1986 she appeared before the Waitangi Tribunal and impressed its members with what they described as “impressive diligence and care” in explaining the impact that broadcasting media have on Maori interests. 
In 2002 she was a member of a change implementation advisory group set up by the State Services Commission which produced a report about turning the face of the system towards citizens. The focus of the group was to encourage—and indeed provoke—public officials to see citizens in a much broader frame and to be willing to engage in new ways of thinking and relating. 
All of these qualities will stand Beverley in great stead for the very significant role of Chief Ombudsman. We wish her great courage in continuing to tackle the truth to be curious to be sceptical and not to be sidetracked by political spin. Kia ora tatou. 
Motion agreed to.