Editorial: Boshier a man for openness

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

There is a new sheriff in town - that was how one TV show described it.

Judge Peter Boshier is the new Chief Ombudsman, replacing Dame Beverley Wakem, and charged with overhauling the office and making it more effective in securing government transparency, particularly around the Official Information Act.

Dame Beverley's final task, at the end of last year, was to report on the most in-depth review of the act which found that ministerial officials tried to limit the scope of information within a request and tried to influence what was actually released.

Now Judge Boshier has to tackle the twin evils of political spin and ministerial secrecy and, so far, he is making all the right noises.

He has called for a culture change where the default position is: Why don't we make information freely available, rather than the "Well, why should we ..." attitude that seems to prevail in some agencies.

And the good judge's track record during his eight years as New Zealand's Principal Family Court Judge also bodes well.

The media has become used to the stonewalling of ministries and government agencies, some of which, it seems, would tell the public nothing if they could get away with it.

A new issue has raised its head with the Reserve Bank trying to charge media for information - dubbed "a tax on the right to know". Again, Judge Boshier has spoken out against such charges.

Of course, local government also has a responsibility to be open and transparent and keep its citizens informed.

The Chronicle currently has an Official Information Act request with Whanganui District Council seeking details of the settlement of the court action against MWH Global over the design of the failed wastewater treatment plant - a matter of concern to ratepayers. We await to see if we shall need to call on Judge Boshier's services.