MEDIA RELEASE
8 February 2012
EMBARGOED UNTIL 1400
Half-Yearly Disclosure of Chief Executive Expenses

State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie today announced that chief executive expenses and gifts disclosures for the second half of 2012 are expected to be disclosed online today.

“This is the fifth disclosure since I introduced this regime in 2010 and I consider that the disclosure regime is working well to promote transparency and give confidence that overall chief executives are behaving appropriately. It is imperative that public funds are being spent judiciously, and that senior officials are modelling appropriate behaviours,” Mr Rennie said.

“While it is important that chief executives have the resources to do their job, there rightly remains strong interest in where public money is spent and what gifts and hospitality senior public servants are receiving.”

State Service chief executives make details of their expenses and any gifts and hospitality they receive during the previous six months. The disclosures are made on the relevant agency’s website and also collected at www.data.govt.nz.

Each chief executive must make his/her own decisions about the expenses they incur and the acceptance of gifts or hospitality. These decisions should be made in line with their agency’s policies. For crown entities these disclosures are made in accordance with the policies approved by their Board. In all cases, expenditure must be in line with the Commissioner’s Standards of Integrity and Conduct.

“I expect that when making their decisions, each chief executive will consider the importance of responsibility and restraint in the spending of taxpayers’ money and where and when it is appropriate to accept gifts and hospitality on behalf of their agency,” said Mr Rennie.

“Although not mandatory, we do encourage other organisations in the state sector such as Crown Research Institutes, State-Owned Enterprises, Tertiary Education Institutions, and Public Finance Act Schedule 4 agencies (i.e. Crown Fibre Holdings, KiwiRail) to also submit a declaration every six months in the interests of public transparency,” Mr Rennie said.

Details of Mr Rennie’s expenses, gifts and hospitality are available on the State Services Commission (SSC) website at this link http://www.ssc.govt.nz/sscer-expense-disclosures and on the government data website.

ENDS

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