Clendon David: Appointments — Ombudsman and Chief Ombudsman Deputy Controller and Auditor-General Independent Police Conduct Authority Abortion Supervisory CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClendon David: Appointments — Ombudsman and Chief Ombudsman Deputy Controller and Auditor-General Independent Police Conduct Authority Abortion Supervisory Committee[Sitting date: 16 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6758. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID CLENDON (Green): I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Greens in support of this motion to reappoint one person and appoint a new person to the Independent Police Conduct Authority. The question of who will guard the guards themselves—who watches the watchmen—is one that has echoed down through many centuries and it is a serious and important question to ask.The police force does have extraordinary powers. It has coercive powers. We entrust it with authority far beyond that which the normal citizen—I was going to say “enjoys” but “possesses” is perhaps a better word.It is important for that reason that we do have an oversight body and critically an oversight body that is independent that reports directly to Parliament and that is not in any way compromised in the way that some other oversight organisations may be.The Independent Police Conduct Authority I think has a good history. It has done a good job for the most part. I think we take for granted in New Zealand that we are largely free of corruption in the Public Service in this country and I think in the police force of all entities and State agencies keeping corruption out of that arena is absolutely critical. Clearly the Independent Police Conduct Authority does have a role in that as well as the functions described by Mr Goff.In cases where there have been shootings or deaths involving police action or intervention it is critical we have that independent oversight to ensure that the right thing has been done and to ensure that where things have gone wrong we take lessons from that and ensure that there is no repeat of those things.The Independent Police Conduct Authority also has an important role as part of the national preventative mechanism—that is to say involved in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. It has a very important role there in ensuring that our places of detention are managed in a humane and proper fashion and that people’s rights are respected while they are in detention and I know that the Independent Police Conduct Authority takes that part of its brief very seriously and actively engages in that.I think we are very fortunate in the leadership of the Independent Police Conduct Authority. Judge Sir David Carruthers—I think I have got the honorifics in the right order—is not only a highly skilled and effective judicial officer but he also brings some personal quality to the role. He is an extremely engaging person. He is genuinely a leader and I think we are fortunate to have him in that role.I am pleased to see the reappointment of Dianne Macaskill. She has again a varied and impressive CV as an archivist a statistician and an expert in strategic management. She has that role on the basis of her quality of her experience and of her capacity.I also point to the fact that I think it is important we also have at least one woman—that we have gender balance to the extent we can on that body. The Greens exercise that in our leadership roles and I think it is important that we have that representation at the senior levels of all of these public agencies that have roles as guardians and as oversight bodies for the various functions of Government.The new appointment Simon Murdoch again has a very impressive CV as a diplomat and as a public servant in many roles. We do wish him well in this new appointment and as I said we are pleased to support the nomination.Motion agreed to.