Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is subject to correctionStreet Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 23 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14185. Text is subject to correction.]7.Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) to theMinister of State Services: Has he asked the State Services Commissioner for reports on recent failures of state sector agencies to carry out their functions according to the law; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of State Services): No I have not requested such a report from the commissioner. The reason for that is that the Government’s regular surveys of public trust and satisfaction with public services give me confidence that in general State sector agencies are performing well. The most recent Kiwis Count survey shows that public satisfaction with public services used in the last 6 months is currently 73 percent up from 68 percent under Labour and trust in public services has increased from 67 percent under Labour to 77 percent today.Hon Maryan Street: Why did one of the poorest schools in Christchurch have to engage one of the top public law specialists in New Zealand to prove that the Ministerof Education got it wrong when she merged Phillipstown School with Woolston School?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As the Minister of Education has previously said in this House “As this judgment is still within the appeal period and one or other of the parties may appeal it would not be in the public interest for me to comment.”Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I understand the need sometimes for Ministers who perhaps have something to say that will cause an issue in the court to use that but this was a question to the Minister of State Services around the competency of State sector agencies. I think he could have made a better attempt to answer the question than that.Mr SPEAKER: The member may well think that. I think there would be many occasions when he thinks a better attempt could be made. It is the responsibility of the Minister to answer the question. He has decided presumably on advice that on this particular occasion he does not want to comment further and has said that it would not be in the public interest to do so. That is the responsibility of the Minister. Provided that the question is addressed and addressed that way the answer is satisfactory.Hon Maryan Street: How does he explain the Department of Conservation’s failure to carry out its legal requirements to advocate for the environment by offering its Minister a two-paragraph submission on theRuataniwha Dam proposal except by interference from the Minister Dr Nick Smith?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I completely disagree with the assertion underlying that question. It is interesting. When Maryan Street was in front of the New Zealand Public Service Association yesterday she was telling public servants that they follow the law and perform with integrity but—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The question has been adequately addressed in the first part of that answer.Hon Maryan Street: Given the litany of State sector failures and the corrections sought by citizens through court means whether it is through health education conservation or police what is he going to do to remedy such gross failures of ministerial competence and Government agency performance?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Well the only case I can recall of gross ministerial failure was under the last Labour Government when the Minister or her colleague got Parliamentary Service to illegally fund an $800000 pledge card. That is the only case I am aware of.