Commission completes deliberation (Haami Piripi)
Subject: Commission completes deliveration Date
sent: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 15:34:24 +1200 From:
"Lana Simmons-Donaldson" 12 August 2004 Commission
completes deliberation At its meeting today the Maori
Language Commission Board completed its deliberations over
the select committee submission made by its Chief Executive
Haami Piripi. The Board reiterated that it does not
consider Mr Piripi had breached any law or existing
Government policy and that Mr Piripi had a right to make a
submission to the select committee as a private citizen of
this country. However, as correctly pointed out by the
Minister of Maori Affairs the net effect has been an
undermining of confidence in the neutrality of the
Commission by Government and by opposition parties. For this
reason Mr Piripi has been censured by the Board and
requested to desist from making further public submissions.
Mr Piripi has agreed to this. In terms of establishing
ethical standards for the Commission, Commissioners have
decided to work with the State Services Commission and Te
Puni Kokiri in the coming months to establish state sector
standards that will extend to all employees of Autonomous
Crown Entities like the Commission. In the interim the
Commission has agreed to adopt the following policies to
ensure all employees: · Perform their duties honestly and
impartially · Avoid situations which might compromise their
integrity or otherwise lead to conflicts of interest
· Observe the principles of fairness and impartiality in all
official dealings · Avoid any interest or situation that
could directly or indirectly compromise the performance of
their duties, or the standing of the Commission in
relationships with key stakeholders. ENDS