Oversight of the overseers
Congratulations on an excellent editorial highlighting the inappropriate appointment of Martin Matthews to the position of Auditor-General (“Auditing the auditors”, August 19).
Why have the media generally allowed this matter to be swept under the carpet? We are entitled to know how Matthews’ name came to be submitted to the Officers of Parliament Committee that recommended his appointment. We are entitled to know that senior government positions are not filled by cronyism.
Until reading the editorial, I was unaware that Speaker of the House David Carter had enforced the secrecy surrounding this disgrace. Carter is also chair of the committee, whose other members are Trevor Mallard, David Clendon, Te Ururoa Flavell, Jami-Lee Ross, Carmel Sepuloni and Barbara Stewart.
Have any of them been asked to explain how they could have made such a mistake and how they propose, if indeed they do, to avoid any recurrence? This scandal may have been sidelined by other political events, but it should not be allowed to just go away. David Hill (Tauranga) “Auditing the auditors” highlights the convention that Parliament and our representatives can and often do place themselves above the laws they enact in governing us. This convenient convention has its roots in the monarchical beginnings of the Westminster system. Kings and queens considered themselves elected by God and weren’t about to allow mere subjects access to their plans and thoughts.
The troubling circumstances surrounding the appointment and resignation of the Auditor-General expose some lamentable consequences of governments being able to avoid being transparent.
It’s revealing that a convention shielding MPs from potentially embarrassing scrutiny remains established while the one that a minister should tender his or her resignation if a major disaster such as
Pike River occurs during their watch has become a historical curiosity. Clearly it is time for a transformation of our constitutional arrangements. Raymond Nairn (Mt Eden, Auckland) LETTER OF THE WEEK