Public Address | Cafe | OnPoint: Some of My Best Friends are Consultants

Tim Michie

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:46:54 +1200

Repeated again in the last third of Court Report. Ombudsman Beverley Wakem is making this point whenever possible it seems.

David Chittenden

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:50:57 +1200

You just need to look at the sort of projects coming out on the GETS website.

I understand that only tenders at or above $100,000 need to go through the GETS system, so there will be a huge amount of consulting going on that doesn't make it on to GETS.…

Sacha

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:01:56 +1200

your optimism was touching

Steve Barnes

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:33:50 +1200

Not sure how this fist this tread but…
Court overturns conviction for theft of Goldman source code
The court suggested it might have reached a different conclusion if Aleynikov had smuggled the source code out of the building on a CD or thumb drive. But because he uploaded…

nzlemming

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:03:12 +1200

Ah, my bad. Thanks, Matthew and Sacha

Matthew Poole

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:49:34 +1200

the Ombudsman seems to think so, but nothing is certain with this government.

No, she's quite sure it won't be so based on National's utterances thus far. She wants it to be so, but the current plan espoused by National is to become majority shareholder of something that strongly resembles…

Sacha

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:21:42 +1200

the Ombudsman seems to think so

she *wants* so.

andin

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:51:21 +1200

Despite not having 30% of the data, they considered it proof that the Capping regime wasn’t affecting consulting expenditure. Having declared that it was okay for that one year, they stopped measuring the the regime against this data, even though it was still being compiled by Treasury.

That's just shoddy,…

nzlemming

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:41:48 +1200

Will we be able to OIA such info after an organisation is partially privatised?

It's a good question. See DeepRed's link above, where the Ombudsman seems to think so, but nothing is certain with this government.

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:39:22 +1200

Like many things, their ultimate effect relies on the opposition functioning properly. With a thin majority and internal bickering, that pressure can easily bring down a government.

Or a good dose of leaks, à la MFAT. Or even HB Gary Federal.

Tim Michie

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:19:58 +1200

Will we be able to OIA such info after an organisation is partially privatised?

Steve Barnes

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:51:46 +1200

You just need to look at the sort of projects coming out on the GETS website.

As I pointed out a couple of weeks backCan anybody give me any assurance that this is not a list of jonkey’s previous Employers/Mates?
It all fits a little too neatly for…

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:44:56 +1200

Ombudsmen's decisions can be seriously slowed down as demonstrated by this one on the government seeking to thwart OIA requests for lists of Briefings to Incoming Ministers – over 3 years ago (141KB PDF) via Idiot/Savant.

Like many things, their ultimate effect relies on the opposition functioning properly. With a…

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:37:18 +1200

there are ways of dealing with "independent" bodies
lots of construction activity in Christchurch... #concrete

Pete Sime

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:29:53 +1200

On the other hand, the Ombudsman’s opinion would be quite persuasive if someone wanted to seek a judicial review over a decision not to release that information.

Matthew Poole

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:11:13 +1200

The Chief Ombudsman's comments are also unlikely to encourage National to make the additional funding a priority. Public servants should know their place, and if they get lippy, well, there are ways of dealing with "independent" bodies.

Matthew Poole

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:39:31 +1200

Unlikely. The current government are in no hurry to empower the Ombudsmen, as witnessed by their lack of urgency on rectifying the Office's dire funding situation.

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:32:00 +1200

The Chief Ombudsman has just lobbed a political grenade into the asset sales debate. Could this be to asset sales what the High Court has been to the Crafarms deal?

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:30:13 +1200

oh, there will be 'leadership' in the sense of faithfully carrying out the executive's wishes.

Keith Ng

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:29:40 +1200

Thanks!

nzlemming

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:26:19 +1200

I was thinking more the Terrace Troika of Treasury, the State Services Commission, and the DPMC.

Which are in the process of being quietly munged into one entity as we type. Don't look for leadership or oversight there.

3410

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:22:46 +1200

Oh, BTW... Thanks, Keith. Your efforts are appreciated.

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:15:09 +1200

if it’s a Select Committee annual financial review, then the answer is us voters.

I was thinking more the Terrace Troika of Treasury, the State Services Commission, and the DPMC.

3410

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:01:23 +1200

And this story makes the top of RNZ's midday news.

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:49:00 +1200

verily. it's one reason I have little confidence about which public servants are being 'let go'.

whataboutandrew

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:34:42 +1200

@ Sacha

That goes not just for consultants but also public servants too.

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:27:16 +1200

and supporting your conclusion, it's rather hard to get work as a consultant if you have a reputation for delivering based on evidence rather than the hirer's agenda.

whataboutandrew

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:18:40 +1200

I note, as you note, the data is not good. But what does spending more on consultants actually indicate? I don't think money spend really means much....

Bart Janssen

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:09:38 +1200

From a personal example
We can't afford to support Macs because it would require our help desk to er help

But we can afford to hire a consultant to tell us if should be using and supporting iPhones

Essentially consultants are used to avoid taking responsibility for making decisions -…

Max Call

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:56:59 +1200

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10798006
"The data on consultant expenditure was released to freelance journalist Keith Ng under the Official Information Act."

Sacha

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:43:50 +1200

if it's a Select Committee annual financial review, then the answer is us voters.

Kumara Republic

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:06:45 +1200

If only one question needs to be asked, it'd have to be...

Who audits the auditors?

Pete Sime

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:49:11 +1200

I'll be interested in having a look at the 2012 Human Resource Capability Survey when it comes out later this year. I wonder if there'll be a marked increase in unplanned turnover – indicating the departure of public servants who have decided to move on rather than deal with the…

Susannah Shepherd

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:47:35 +1200

Treasury's shoddy data doesn't remotely surprise me.

At my (shall remain nameless) agency, we are however seeing quite a change in our approach to consultants – the cap on numbers plus fast-falling baselines means that we're employing far fewer in-house consultants, and really only buying in skills that we can't…

Sacha

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:03:48 +1200

Should outsource them. At least slash their budgets to 'encourage efficiency'.

Idiot Savant

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:48:26 +1200

Back in 2010, looking at consultant expenditure was considered important to measuring the success of the Capping regime. Despite not having 30% of the data, they considered it proof that the Capping regime wasn't affecting consulting expenditure.

And I think that's the real story here: just how shoddy Treasury's analysis…

papango

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:15:19 +1200

That doesn't surprise me. I've seen a variety of interpretations of what will be included in 'contractor and consultant'. Few of which have any logic or consistency behind them. It probably depends on who answers to OIA or select committee questions and what they decide on the day. That's one…

Keith Ng

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:55:51 +1200

Also, just looked up a few: The Financial Review numbers don't match with the Treasury numbers and neither match with the directly OIAed numbers. "Don't match" as in they look like completely different numbers.

Keith Ng

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:54:15 +1200

Thanks!

papango

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:44:51 +1200

It should be in the evidence from the agencies and the questions you want are 16, 17 and (particularly) 18 (which gives the details for every contractor or consultant). I hate the parliament website so I usually just Google 'financial review' and the name of the department. There's probably a…

Tom Beard

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:58:54 +1200

One thing that interests me is whether consultants have the same transparency and impartiality requirements as public servants. For instance, internal correspondence, documentation and research would be subject to an OIA when carried out in-house: is there the same level of scrutiny for consultants, or is only the final report…

Keith Ng

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:16:41 +1200

Select committees ask departments for information about contractors and consultants. How many and total cost is required for every department's yearly financial review. Those numbers exist.

Little help?

I've been going through Select Committee reports on Financial Reviews and evidence submitted to them, but haven't found anything. Could you point…

Fraser Gardyne

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:42:14 +1200

Hilary and Sacha, you are right on the money! It's an absolutely hopeless situation.

Sacha

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:11:24 +1200

And staff who manage tender processes are, you guessed it, regarded as 'back office', so are slashed. The whole thing takes even longer, and eventually good tenderers stop bothering. Ambishus.

Hilary Stace

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:01:42 +1200

You just need to look at the sort of projects coming out on the GETS website. A lot of stuff that could be done much more cheaply and efficiently in-house. But there are no staff left with the expertise or institutional memory, so everything is tendered and it is a…

Keith Ng

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:48:00 +1200

Ah! The Financial Reviews. That's what I'm doing next.

papango

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:43:20 +1200

Select committees ask departments for information about contractors and consultants. How many and total cost is required for every department's yearly financial review. Those numbers exist.

Sacha

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:08:06 +1200

Great work. Given the accompanying move to reduce 'back-office' staff, it would be interesting to know which sorts of functions are being done by consultants in each department too. Is that level of detail available anywhere?

Public Address

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:08:06 +1200

Discussion from blog post.