Chauvel Charles: Appointments — OmbudsmanText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeChauvel Charles: Appointments — Ombudsman[Sitting date: 11 October 2007. Volume:642;Page:12319. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour): I will speak just briefly as a member of the Officers of Parliament Committee in favour of the motion. As is known the committee exists to manage the interface between the three Officers of Parliament and this House. As you know Madam Speaker earlier this year we resolved in the committee to recommend the appointment of a further Ombudsman. At the same time we recommended the devotion to the office of some additional resource to recognise the increased workload the office was under. I would like to note that those recommendations were agreed to without demur and to congratulate the executive on that because in my view the fact that there was no such objection demonstrates a good level of respect for the operation of the rule of law at a practical and everyday level.I also acknowledge with respect your work Madam Speaker as chair of the committee and also of the subcommittee that conducted the search for the additional Ombudsman. I also acknowledge the work of the other members of that subcommittee: the Hon Mark Burton Darren Hughes and Nathan Guy. I should also acknowledge the work of the recruitment team that was led byLilias Bell because I think everyone on the committee would agree that we were ably assisted. Finally I acknowledge the very high calibre of all the persons who expressed an interest in the role and in particular those whom we interviewed.I will just briefly point to the practical reasons for the increase in the work of the Ombudsmen. Obviously when the role was first created under the 1975 legislation it was confined to the investigation of complaints about central government and its organisations but very quickly the Ombudsman began to build public confidence. In 1982 when the Official Information Act was passed quite a substantial level of additional work was placed on the Ombudsman in recognition of which the facility was created for the appointment of additional officers. Then in 1988 the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act came into force—it was 1987 legislation—giving the ombudsmen further work. In 2001 the protected disclosures legislation augmented the workload and then of course in January 2005 the Crown Entities Act provided further work for the ombudsmen.The last piece of legislation to increase the jurisdiction of the office came with the enactment of the Crimes of Torture Amendment Act 2006 where the obligations that New Zealand accepted under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment were brought into legislation. Clearly designating the Office of the Ombudsmen as one of the agencies to visit prisons mental health detention facilities residential care facilities such as those existing for at-risk children and youth and immigration detention facilities will create substantial additional work for the office. So it is appropriate that that additional resource has been supplied.Very briefly I will acknowledge the calibre of the existing Ombudsmen: JohnBelgrave a former Secretary for Justice and Secretary of Commerce a former member of the State Services Commission and a former Comptroller of Customs; BeverleyWakem a former chief executive of Radio New Zealand a former president of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union a former executive chair of Hill and Knowlton (New Zealand) Ltd and a former member of the former Higher Salaries Commission; and Mel Smith a former chief inspector a former Secretary for Justice and a former Deputy Secretary for Internal Affairs. The fact that there are such illustrious appointees in the existing office is a tribute again to Dave McGee in that he is seen as worthy of joining those people and also of joining the ranks of those who have held the office in the past—notably Sir Guy Powles Sir GeorgeLaking Sir John Robertson Sir BrianElwood andNadja Tollemache and perhaps most notably of course our current Governor-General the Hon AnandSatyanand.Madam Speaker when you spoke at the launch of the third edition ofParliamentary Practice in New Zealandyou said that in the short time you had been Speaker you not only had had many occasions on which to rely on Mr McGee’s advice but also had observed that internationally he is respected as the doyen of Clerks who serve parliamentary democracies. I was able to see for myself that that was the case when the Justice and Electoral Committee recently visited the Victorian Parliament and we were told by the Clerk of the Legislative Council WayneTunnecliffe that as far as he and the other Clerks of the Parliaments of Australia were concerned the third edition ofParliamentary Practice in New Zealandwas as essential a reference work on the Tables of the Clerks as Erskine May’s work. I think that is a very eloquent demonstration of the fact that Dave McGee has gained the level of international recognition that has been referred to by previous speakers.It is also very refreshing to have heard that at the Youth Parliament Mr McGee had some interesting views as to how the controversy over reporting of parliamentary affairs might be dealt with given the fact that the media will be substantially part of his new clientele in his new role. I understand that he said it might be a good thing to send photographers into the gallery after question time every day just to see how many journalists were yawningtexting or sleeping or had simply disappeared through lack of interest. More power to his elbow on that sort of advice!In conclusion I can say on a personal note that Mr McGee is kind and considerate to new members. That will certainly be something that will be missed but hopefully Dave McGee’s successor will also exhibit those characteristics. Mr McGee will make an excellent Officer of Parliament. Asa femmeje dis: “Bonne chance!” and to him: “Bon courage!” in his new role. I offer my respectful good wishes to him.