The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says too many New Zealanders are still unaware of their rights to request information from Ministers, government agencies, and councils despite a growing thirst for information by the public.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has released the latest Official Information Act (OIA) and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) data[1].
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has welcomed today’s announcement by the Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins that the Government intends to begin strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers.
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier says Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison has made significant progress towards improving prisoners’ safety but has been slow to improve conditions for remand and at risk prisoners.
The Chief Ombudsman says staff shortages at one of New Zealand’s largest prisons are causing prisoners to spend extended periods of time locked in their cells and prisoners’ rehabilitation needs are not being met.
The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has launched investigations into the Ministry of Health’s oversight of facilities and services for intellectually disabled people with high and complex needs.
The Chief Ombudsman has commenced four new self-initiated investigations into the official information practices of the public sector, the third set of investigations announced in the past eight months.