Mayor happy inquiry will test council practice

Horowhenua Mayor Michael Feyen is delighted chief ombudsman Peter Boshier has chosen the district council for an inquiry into how information is being managed.

The Ombudsman’s Office has set up the investigation into how the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act is working in practice.

The council’s acting chief executive, Mark Lester, has also welcomed the announcement that Horowhenua, Christchurch City Council and Treasury will be used as test cases.

Feyen said he hoped the outcome would improve transparency and people’s confidence that requests for information were being handled properly.

He also hoped any complaints about information being withheld without good reason would be dealt with more quickly.

A large part of the office’s workload is related to complaints about handling of information requests lodged under the terms of the legislation.

The Ombudsman’s Office said the investigation was part of an established work programme about public sector compliance. It was ‘‘unrelated to any previous issues’’.

That was a reference to the council’s controversial emailblocking practices that had been used to allegedly protect staff from abusive emails. A new policy was subsequently put in place.

Feyen said many people in Horowhenua were still waiting for the office to resolve complaints relating to the email saga.