Office of the Ombudsman (New Zealand)

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Office of the Ombudsman
Kaitiaki Mana Tangata
Agency overview
Formed1962
JurisdictionNew Zealand
Headquarters70 The Terrace
Wellington 6011
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Vacant,
    Chief Ombudsman
Websitewww.ombudsman.parliament.nz

The Ombudsman is an officer of the

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
.

Ombudsmen are appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand on recommendation from the New Zealand House of Representatives for a term of five years.[1]

The former Chief Ombudsman is Peter Boshier.[2]

History

The idea of establishing an ombudsman in New Zealand goes back to early 1961 when the Second National Government circulated a paper proposing to do so, based on the Scandinavian model. The idea was received with skepticism by the public service.[3] In 1962 Parliament passed the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act 1962, creating an ombudsmen system based on that of Denmark, with powers to investigate administrative decisions.[4] Initially the Ombudsman served for a term of three years, and had jurisdiction only over central government agencies. In 1968 their jurisdiction was extended to include education boards and hospital boards.[5] In 1975 the Act was replaced with the Ombudsmen Act 1975, which allowed for multiple Ombudsmen, each serving a term of five years.[4] In 1982 the jurisdiction of the Ombudsmen was expanded again, to cover complaints under the Official Information Act 1982.

List of Chief Ombudsmen

The following is a list of New Zealand's Chief Ombudsmen:[2]

No. Name Portrait Term start Term end
1 Sir Guy Powles 13 October 1975 5 April 1977
2 Sir George Laking 6 April 1977 15 October 1984
3 Lester Castle 16 October 1984 26 November 1986
4 Sir John Robertson 21 December 1986 14 December 1994
5 Sir Brian Elwood 14 December 1994 30 June 2003
6 John Belgrave 1 July 2003 3 December 2007
7 Dame Beverley Wakem 23 April 2008 9 December 2015
8 Peter Boshier 9 December 2015 16 March 2024

References

  1. ^ Ombudsmen Act 1975, s5(1).
  2. ^ a b "Past Ombudsmen". Office of the Ombudsman. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. JSTOR 3478951
  4. ^ a b Cameron, Bruce James. "Ombudsman". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ^ Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Amendment Act 1968

External links

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