week nine Flashcards

(74 cards)

1
Q

tribunals began as institutions of administrative law and are a pragmatic response to?

A

a political reality

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2
Q

tribunals have been described as the court of __ ___ for the citizen

A

first instance

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3
Q

a public officer has discretion whenever ?

A

the effective limits on his power leave him free to make a choice among possible courses of action or inaction

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4
Q

what are the three principle ingredients for the exercise of discretion

A

facts, values and influences

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5
Q

discretionary justice overlaps with ?

A

policy-making

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6
Q

rules alone, untempered by discretion, cannot cope with ?

A

the complexities of modern government and of modern justice

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7
Q

discretion is our principle source of creativeness in which areas

A

government and law

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8
Q

discretion is only a tool when it is?

A

properly used

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9
Q

why was the Ombudsmen established

A

to look into administrative decisions and make recommendations about defects

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10
Q

what is the oldest and most effective avenue of redress

A

Parliament itself

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11
Q

how does one get redress from Parliament (4 methods)

A

point out the problem to your MP, they can write to the relevant minister on your behalf, who will have to write back saying what the position is, and, if in the government’s view, anything is wrong

alternatively: MP’s can ask questions
alternatively: select committees can investigate serious grievances
alternatively: petition to parliament

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12
Q

what limitations do Standing Orders put upon petitions to parliament

A

language must be respectful and moderate

other legal remedies must be exhausted

if it could’ve been complained to the Ombudsmen it won’t be considered

if its on the same subject as an earlier petition that has been dealt with, unless substantial and material new evidence is available, then it also won’t be considered

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13
Q

does the Ombudsmen have allegiance to the executive branch

A

no

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14
Q

are funding decisions for the ombudsmen made by cabinet

A

no, by the Officers of Parliament Committee

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15
Q

how long is the Ombudsmen appointed for

A

5 year term

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16
Q

can the Ombudsmen investigate on their own behalf as well as investigating complaints?

A

yes

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17
Q

does the Ombudsmen have the power to alter decisions

A

no, they just investigate and report on them

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18
Q

what are the functions of the Police Complaints Authority

A

receive complaints, investigate of its own motion and take such action in respect of complaints, incidents and other matters as it is contemplated by the Act

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19
Q

the human rights act is related to what other rights statute

A

NZBORA

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20
Q

the Human Rights Act is an ____-____ law

A

anti-discrimination

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21
Q

what’s the extra difference of NZBORA compared to the Human Rights Act

A

it protects citizens from the state regarding a much broader range of rights and freedoms, subject to a general balancing justification, rather than only being anti-discrimination like Human Rights Act

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22
Q

what information remedies can the human Rights Commission and the Race Relations Commissioner use (in the first instance)

A

mediation, negotiation, shuttle diplomacy, informal interventions

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23
Q

where matters for the Human Rights Commission cannot be solved informally, what happens

A

the Director of Human Rights proceedings takes over and decides whether each complainant should be provided with free legal representation to take the compaints to the Human Rights Review Tribunal

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24
Q

what Act established the Privacy Commissioner

A

Privacy Act 1993

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25
the generality of Privacy principles means much of their public credibility lies in __ ___ __ ___ ___, which makes the skills and experience of the Privacy Commissioner important to the effective functioning of New Zealand's privacy law
the way they are applied
26
what act established the Health and Disability Commissioner
Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994
27
what act established the Children's Commissioner
Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989
28
what two parts is the Public Sector as a whole divided up into
the state sector and the local government
29
what makes up the State Sector (within the Public Sector)
public service state owned enterprises crown entities other public entities
30
what makes up the local government (within the Public Sector)
regional councils territorial authorities
31
what is the public service
it is the core of the Public Sector, the executive and the delivery arm of government. it is those that work DIRECTLY for the Crown
32
what was happening pre-1912 in the Public Service
Ministers controlled departments entirely, meaning they could appoint staff - not merit based always there was little coordination between departments in 1866 a basic examination was introduced that you had to pass to get into the service, but the Ministers could still appoint whatever temporary staff they wanted patronage - departments became kingdoms for Ministers - the public service are loyal to the Minister because they can be fired by them
33
what role did the 1912 Public Service Act create in regards to the Public Service
sets up a Public Services Commissioner who appoints all those working in the Public Services - no longer done by the Minister. The Commissioners job is to ensure efficient and economic running of the public service, as well as employing the staff
34
what were the principles of the Public Service system from 1912 - 1988, after the Public Services Commissioner was established but before the Muldoon to Lange party change
Merit based system Non-political Independent - can give frank advice to the minister Generalist - all public management is the same, you can move between departments anonymous - decision of an individual public servant will not be publicised a single service - no divisions between advisors/senior management and the delivery of policy ministerial responsibility for what goes on in their department
35
why was reform of the Public Service urgently needed when Lange came into power in 1984
the country is in extreme debt and we needed to get out of huge financial troubles which the Muldoon government was able to hide because of extreme secrecy at the time
36
what were the principles of the 1984 reform of the Public Service, based on the advice of the Treasury
maximise efficiency improve coordination reduce the range of state functions - not so many people ensure clear accountability ensure clear MISSIONS - focus on what they are meant to achieve high quality & contestable advice focus changes from processes to outputs - focus on the consequences and outcomes
37
what principle did the 1984 reforms of the Public service use and what was the argument for it
new public management, by focusing on the principles we could improve the public service, make it more efficient and save money - which we desperately needed to do
38
how did the division of the public sector end up looking after the 1984 reforms to the public sector
- central service (Treasury, DPMC) - departments, rather than one big service (policy departments and administration departments) - companies are removes from the public service and become SOE's - Crown entities
39
what is new public management
a flexible, market based form of public management
40
the power given to the executive gives them the power to impede on individuals' lives, but only to the extent of?
the law
41
why did we need to make more administrative justice bodies
the state is growing and becoming increasingly complex and uses a lot more discretionary executive power. we need mechanisms to control, or at least hold accountable, the exercise of those discretions.
42
the Ombudsmen have a lot of effectiveness and respect despite have little or no ?
coercive power
43
in what context do the Ombudsmen have coercive powers
Official Information - if you request information for a department but only release some, the Ombudsmen can go in for you and direct the release of further information
44
what special role do the Ombudsmen have under the Public Disclosures Act and what is this Act known as
the whistleblowing act - Ombudsmen facilitates disclosure and protection
45
can the Ombudsmen surprise inspect prisons and provide reports and recommendations
yes
46
ombudsmen recommendations improve ___ ___ ___ and ___ to make our executive better
public decision making and processes
47
what are 4 limits on the Ombudsmen's effectiveness
legally, they don't HAVE to be follow, although in practice it is highly effective funding comes directly from Parliament, and technically they could face financial constraints as their workload goes up over time, however they will most always get extra money they ask the Parliamentary Committee for you have tp have exhausted any appeal rights or internal complaints procedures to be able to apply there the Ombudsmen doesn't have to hear the complaint - if you've sat on it for over a year, if its frivolous or lacking merit etc.
48
what is the overall advantage of going to the Ombudsmen over the court, and 4 reasons for this
overall - much more accessible than the courts its free you should get a resolution and usually within 6 months, only 4-5% of complaints were still alive 12 months after they were filed, whereas getting before a judge for judicial review could take a really long time no lawyers less formality - complain by text, email, phone call - there is no particular form. whereas courts have requirements for the font size and paper weights of filings
49
what are some reasons why administrative justice shouldn't be judicially reviewable
dragging the person into judicial review, which they were trying to avoid in the first place, may/probably not able to afford these processes were set up to avoid court in the first place court of general jurisdiction can make decisions in respect of tribunals which Parliament intended to become a specialist
50
what are some reasons why administrative justice should be judicially reviewable
there has to be some mechanism to check that these quite powerful administrative justice mechanisms operate within the law
51
is the Ombudsmen judicially reviewable
yes - but only administrative actions, not substantive ones (things about decisions, whose cases to here etc.)
52
the Ombudsmen Act has a privative clause - what is this and why is it not that important in this case
excludes the challenging of any decision in a court - courts read provisions like that really narrowly, so do review administrative actions of the Ombudsmen
53
what are the two key acts underpinning the Public Sector
Public Service Act 2020 and Public Finance Act 1989
54
what are the principles of the Public Service Act 2020
politically neutral free and frank advice to ministers merit based appointments culture of open government proactively promote stewardship of the public service including its long term capability and its people, institutional knowledge and information, its systems and processes, its assets, the legislation administered by agencies
55
the principles of the Public Service Act 2020 move more towards what previous model of the Public Service
pre-1988 - a more wholistic approach
56
what is the chief executive of a department
they are appointed for a 5 year term by all departments/agencies. they must act within the PSA s11 purpose and s12 principles with a "spirit of service to the community" s13. They are responsible for running their department/agency within the limits provided by the Minister. How they do things is up to them, the Minister just directs them on what to do. They are the employer of all the department staff
57
public finances in nz have to follow which rules?
the rules that apply to private entities - this is strange because most states make exceptions for public, this is a legacy of 1984 and the fear of what happened happening again
58
what is the idea of decoupling
in the Public Service, there are bodies that provide policy, that then have agreements with other agencies which will purchase services, and then there are those that actually deliver the service e.g. Ministry of Health > District Health Boards > Healthcare Providers
59
accountability works through the concept of?
inputs, outputs and outcomes
60
what is a statement of intent
a statement, covering the next four years and made at least once every three years, that is agreed with the Minister and Chief Executive, of what they are going to do over the next four year. The Chief Executive's performance will be measured against what is in the Statement of Intent
61
what are some types of output plans
performance agreements, purchasing agreements, targets
62
what is a performance agreement
what the Chief Executive is going to achieve in relation to the statement of intent - there will be targets for them to achieve in here
63
how is a Chief Executives performance against their performance agreement and statement of intent actually measured
annual reports that say what they've done in this period of time to deliver our statement of intent
64
what do the public service commission do
employ and hold to account the Chief Executives - recommend appointment, Cabinet could technically overrule the decision but this rarely happens
65
how are SOE's held to account
- select committee investigations - annual and 6 month reports - audit office - statement of corporate intent - ministerial accountability through the appointment of the board
66
what are some reasons to have QUANGOs
- independent and not staffed as public service - a number of tribunals are QUANGOs - politically convenient - a means of setting something up outside the constraints of the public service
67
what are some examples of QUANGOs
ACC, Commerce Commission, Families Commission, Universities
68
what act was introduced to deal with a lack of accountability of QUANGOs under just the Public Finance Act 1989
Crown Entities Act 2004 - introduced some mechanisms of accountability
69
what are some examples of SOEs
solid energy kiwirail landcorp nz post transpower metservice airwards
70
what are some examples of things which use a mixed ownership model
air nz, meridian energy, genesis energy, mighty river power
71
what are some examples of crown entity corporations
tvnz, rnz
72
can other Acts trump the Crown Entities Act 2004
yes, acts specific to that thing/organisation
73
what is the risk of politication of public servants
the line between what is policy (Minister) and what is administration (Director/CE) becomes blurry
74
what tragedy prompted cross-government aims by Cabinet to try stop the focus on outputs and bring the system back more to outcomes
The Cave Creek Tragedy - viewing platform of students collapses