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Apology over bungled response: Chief ombudsman says Te Whatu Ora acted unlawfully
Apology over bungled response: Chief ombudsman says Te Whatu Ora acted unlawfully
![Chief ombudsman Peter Boshier](/sites/default/files/styles/cropped_image_16_7_/public/2023-10/Peter%20Boshier_2019.jpg?itok=S6Sz0GAV)
Kia ora, please enjoy our Summer Hiatus selection of stories and comment from throughout 2023, curated by our editorial team. This article was first published on 8 November. We will be back from our summer break on 15 January. Happy reading
Chosen by Martin: This story is one of my favourites for the year as it shows just how tangled up it can become, trying to obtain information from government agencies. Flick to the timeline at the bottom to see how long it can take
Te Whatu Ora has apologised to a New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa journalist, as advised by chief ombudsman Peter Boshier, for a delay in releasing a paper on pay parity.
The paper, considered by the board of interim Health New Zealand in December 2021, highlighted a projected cost of more than $450 million annually to close the 10 to 27 per cent pay gap between nurses and allied health workers in non-government organisations and those in the former DHBs.
This journalist learned of the paper during a seven-month tussle last year for access to the interim board’s agendas and minutes. A shorter wrangle began for access to the paper itself on 7 November, and it was released in full on 27 January this year.
Government agencies typically have 20 working days to respond to Official Information Act 1982 requests. Te Whatu Ora extended its deadline to 23 December last year, citing necessary consultations and the “volume of information”, but then failed to meet it.
When told of the extension, New Zealand Doctor asked Mr Boshier’s office to investigate, which it did.
In a 25 October letter, Mr Boshier concludes: “Taking into account all circumstances of this request, I am of the view that Te Whatu Ora extended the time frame for unjustified and unlawful reasons related to the negotiations Te Whatu Ora was engaged in.”
Further, there was a “failure to meet the statutory obligations” of the act; the agency should have stuck to its extension deadline of 23 December.
Mr Boshier’s investigation and letter shed light on the inner workings of Te Whatu Ora. The agency initially considered releasing the paper with some parts blacked out because of negotiations with nurses and unions regarding funding for pay disparities.
Te Whatu Ora also told Mr Boshier: “[The] information redacted from the report, despite its age, would still jeopardise these ongoing discussions at that point in time and releasing the entirety of the report would have prejudice[d] these negotiations.”
Mr Boshier questions why Te Whatu Ora didn’t release a partially redacted paper, given that some information was still under negotiation. He suggests this could have avoided the need for both an extension and a delay in responding to the request.
Doing so may have prevented the necessity to both extend the time frame and delay making and communicating a decision on the request, he says.
Te Whatu Ora, explaining the delayed response, told him key staff were on leave in early January. When they returned to work, the issues had evolved enough to release the whole paper.
In an email following Mr Boshier’s letter, Te Whatu Ora head of government services Sasha Wood acknowledges the agency failed in its statutory obligations.
“Te Whatu Ora apologises for the delay in providing our response to you,” Ms Wood says.
The agency is updating “products including OIAs” to align better with ombudsman guidance, she says.
As a new organisation receiving a lot of requests, Te Whatu Ora is still working to get on top of response times, she adds.
14 December 2021 – Pay parity paper goes to interim Health New Zealand board
25 March 2022 – Request sent to interim Health New Zealand for board agendas and minutes
28 October 2022 – Requested documents released, disclosing the existence of pay parity paper
7 November 2022 – Pay parity paper requested from Te Whatu Ora
7 December 2022 – Te Whatu Ora grants itself an extension for deciding on request
7 December 2022 – Complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman about extension
27 January 2023 – Te Whatu Ora releases paper in full
25 October 2023 – Chief ombudsman issues decision on complaint