Politician of the Week, Chippie will be like a rat up a drain pipe with this one.
The Office of the Ombudsman says it’s seeing a worrying trend of agencies seeking to exclude certain types of information from the application of the Official Information Act.
Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem says it appears some agencies are routinely drafting new or amending legislation in a way that means people can’t apply under the act for access to information.
She says there have been incidents where her office hasn’t been consulted, one example being the cabinet paper on proposed charter schools.
Dame Beverley says the fact that her office was not consulted is either total ineptitude or a deliberate attempt to try to exclude the oversight of the ombudsman.
He’s got two weeks to work out his line of questioning, and after his performance over the last few weeks it is hard to imagine he won’t have questions about “total ineptitude” or “a deliberate attempt to exclude the oversight of the Ombudsman.
Beverly Wakem has given bugger all wriggle room on this one.
