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It has been a year of leadership change in the Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet. At the conclusion of long periods of service by Marie Shroff
and Mark Prebble, new appointments have been made to the positions of Cabinet
Secretary and Clerk of the Executive Council, and Chief Executive. The Director
of the Policy Advisory Group, Mary-Anne Thompson, has also now concluded her
service with the department, and a new Official Secretary, Tia Barrett is
scheduled to take up his position at Government House in succession to Hugo
Judd.
Together, these changes bring both challenges and opportunities to the department, and its management. The infusion of new perspectives and different experience provides the chance to review aspects of departmental organisation, and also to introduce new approaches. At the same time, the new team must ensure one of the department’s fundamental goals is achieved – continuity of executive government through good support and maintenance of accepted conventions and practices.
This annual report covers a year during which – with the exception of a fortnight – my predecessor, Mark Prebble, was Chief Executive. It was his leadership, supported by the roles played by his senior colleagues and the staff of the whole department, which delivered the outcomes covered in this document.
The past year has seen some important policy and administrative challenges emerge for the department, in particular surrounding the status of the Foreshore and Seabed. The government’s response to this issue was handled through a group of officials brought together as a taskforce within DPMC. The group supported ministers through provision of cross-government policy advice and associated input to draft legislation. The Group was also responsible for supporting the Select Committee on Fisheries and other Sea-related Legislation.
Alongside the requirement to deliver ongoing policy advice to the Prime Minister on issues of the day, the department launched a project to upgrade Government House in Auckland. Contracts were let for architectural design and construction, which commenced in June. The work is expected to be concluded early in the coming year. A refurbished and expanded official residence for the Governor-General in Auckland will enable Her Excellency to undertake a wider range of activities in support of her role.
Nature brought its own sharp challenge to the nation in February 2004. DPMC co-ordinated the government’s response to the devastating floods in the southern North Island. There were a number of lessons learned from the response to these floods and these are being incorporated into civil-emergency management procedures.
Despite the weather turbulence of the year and the organisational changes, the department has been able to discharge its normal workload. In order to strengthen capability to deal with a diverse range of ongoing challenges, DPMC was allocated additional funding in the 2004 Budget. This will be used to build staff strength through a limited number of new positions and additional training.
The remainder of this Overview outlines key events of the year and illustrates
how the department’s additional funding will bolster the capability of the
DPMC’s business groups. More detailed information on the activities of each
business unit can be found in the Statement of Objectives and Service Performance.
In September 2003 the department engaged Paul Carpinter, a long-time senior
public servant and former adviser in DPMC, to provide an ownership perspective
on the department. He assessed the pressures and tasks facing the department,
as well as its current structures and processes. The key outcomes of his review
were:
As a consequence of this review, in the 2004 Budget, the department received
an appropriation increase ($968,000 in 2004/05 and $1.164 million a year for
subsequent years).
This additional funding will be used to:
The Corporate Services Group developed DPMC’s capability bid – including the preparation of the necessary Budget documentation and information to support the department’s case.
Corporate Services, with 14 staff led by Brent Anderson, was involved in
a number of other activities during the year. For example, the Group led the
effort to put in place administrative systems for the Foreshore and Seabed
Group (which has its own budget, personnel, premises, and communication links),
within an extremely tight timeframe. DPMC’s intranet (Insite) was also launched
during the year, providing enhanced communications and information sharing
across the department. In a separate project, new personal computers were
installed and software upgraded. The Corporate Services Group also facilitated
a work/life balance initiative, in consultation with management and staff.
The Cabinet Office has undergone a period of significant
staff turnover at senior levels, whilst maintaining the full range of ongoing
services. The new Secretary of the Cabinet, Diane Morcom, was formerly Deputy
Secretary in the Cabinet Office, and had over 10 years experience in that
environment. In turn, Diane has appointed two new deputy secretaries, one
of whom has the responsibility for strengthening the constitutional capability
of the Office, the other for delivery of secretariat services. A Manager of
Information and Support Services has also been recruited – taking the total
staff complement to 24.
The Cabinet Office has a vital role in maintaining the continuity of government. Its expertise is in the decision-making processes of government – providing information in an accessible form, and then accurately recording and disseminating Cabinet decisions that cover the entire gamut of the government’s business. Over the past year, the rate of staff turnover at the Cabinet Office has been higher than normal, at around 20 per cent – a rate that is close to the public service average but unusual in an area where staff traditionally have been long serving.
DPMC’s Policy Advisory Group of 11 advisers under Acting
Director Michelle Hippolite, who succeeded Mary Anne Thompson in July, advises
the Prime Minister on issues of the day and keeps a watching brief on matters
of policy interest to the government. The Group is responsible for co-ordinating
streams of policy advice that flow to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The way in which central government departments interact with one another and with local government is an issue in which the department has an increasing interest. The Prime Minister inaugurated a Local Government Forum in 2000 in which Ministers and leaders from the Local Government sector participate. This work is coordinated through and supported by the department. Attention is being directed to developing more effective collaboration between central and local government, including the planning, strategy and implementation cycles of local-government administration.
Taking an overview across a diverse range of external issues of interest to New Zealand is the role of the External Assessments Bureau (EAB). A team of 26 staff led by David Kersey provides impartial information to the Prime Minister on urgent and medium-term developments in the Asia/Pacific region, and more widely, and on major areas of tension around the world that have implications for New Zealand’s interests.
A range of reports are produced as required. Regional reports may look some years out into the future; others on a specific topic may have a shorter timeframe – particularly when the EAB is advising the Prime Minister on a current issue. The EAB also produces watch group reports when an urgent situation demands intensive monitoring. The role of the EAB is to report and provide assessments on continuing areas of international tension as objectively as possible – it is not involved in policy advice or advocacy.
Providing support for the Governor-General in the execution of her constitutional, ceremonial and community roles is the responsibility of the Official Secretary, Hugo Judd and a Government House team of 30 in Wellington and Auckland.
In the past year, the Governor-General travelled extensively in the Pacific and also visited Kuwait, Jordan and Germany. Further official travel is planned for the coming year. The Governor-General travelled extensively throughout New Zealand meeting New Zealanders at schools, Marae, workplaces, conferences and important community events. Many other New Zealanders attended functions at Government House’s in Wellington and Auckland.
The Government Houses in Wellington and Auckland are important heritage properties that have considerable community value. Over the past 10 years, Government House in Wellington has undergone a major programme of interior refurbishment, exterior maintenance, and upgrading of the grounds and driveway.
Now it is the turn for Government House in Auckland. A $3 million design
and construction contract was let during the year to demolish a poorly designed
1960’s addition to the house and replace it with new services and reception
areas capable of hosting 250 people. This will expand the flexibility and
range of functions that can be held by Her Excellency in Auckland, or for
other official functions such as the Pacific Forum Leaders’ Retreat and Special
Leaders’ Retreat which were hosted at Government House, Auckland, in August
2003.
The initiative to set up the Foreshore and Seabed Group within
DPMC in January 2004 is a prime example of the department’s role in responding
to new and urgent issues within a whole-of-government approach. The Group
supports the policy development process generally and assisted with the drafting
of the Bill that is now before Parliament. The Group is also assisting and
supporting the Select Committee that is considering the Bill and public submissions
on it.
On a complex matter such as this, inter-departmental and cross-ministerial support processes need to be sensitive to the nuances of the wider policy environment. They must also be capable of tracking and monitoring new developments, reacting quickly to changing circumstances, and ensuring ongoing high quality policy advice.
Cathryn Ashley-Jones’s Foreshore and Seabed Group has a core staff of 14. Almost all of the advisers involved in the project have a background in other departments. The Group includes secondees from Conservation, Environment, Te Puni Kokiri, Treasury and Justice. The foreshore and seabed issue links a range of different ministerial portfolios. Accordingly, a whole-of-government outlook is essential for delivering accurate and expert advice on how the government’s policy objectives can be met.
Steering groups of officials have been established at two levels. Firstly, a high-level steering group provides an overview of the policy-development process. In addition, teams of officials have been working on a wide range of more detailed legal and policy issues. Both groups of officials provide policy advice to the steering group of ministers.
The foreshore and seabed issue is not the focus of any one department: it has a number of focal points, making it difficult for one department to lead consideration of the range of policy issues. Because a number of perspectives need to be worked through, and because DPMC has a mandate to offer a high-level collective view of issues confronting the Government, it is in a position to bring the various levels of advice together for the Prime Minister and other members of Cabinet to consider.
The lower North Island floods in late February 2004 tested the procedures of the Domestic and External Security Group under David Hill. The 6-strong group’s role is one of planning and policy – helping to make central government better organised to manage security risks. There are two key aspects here: preparedness and dealing with events as they unfold.
In the case of the floods, the Group worked under the overall direction of the Officials’ Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC), headed by the Chief Executive of DPMC. ODESC was responsible for determining which agencies needed to be involved in responding to the emergency and for making sure all those involved responded in a timely, relevant and appropriate way. It takes a collective view of the situation – looking at the possible needs and responses, where there are gaps, or where responses or actions are lagging behind.
ODESC met seven times during the period of the floods and their aftermath, with meetings being attended by the relevant departmental chief executives or their senior representatives who could speak for and commit their department. The government wished to go further than the standard reaction and response to this sort of event, and so individual departments developed specific policy responses in areas such as assistance to farmers, matching the dollars donated in private appeals and extra social assistance.
ODESC oversaw the preparation of a paper on assistance to flood victims on a collective whole-of-government basis for consideration by Cabinet. There was considerable discussion with ministers, which was vital in reporting back through the political process on reaction at “ground level” to the responses and assistance offered by both central and local government.
A “lessons learnt” paper is being prepared by an independent evaluator for the Minister of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. One of the issues the evaluator will comment on is the overall response to the floods in a whole-of government sense at a central and local level. This type of evaluation is normal after any exercise involving ODESC and is part of a learning cycle where exercises or real events can be used to improve learning both organisationally and at a personal level.
The Domestic and External Security Group was also heavily involved in a 4-day counter-terrorism exercise held in March 2004. The exercise was based around a terrorist emergency in Christchurch that tested the Government’s ability to deal with such a situation. Four external umpires observed the exercise and an evaluation report has been prepared by Cary Adamson, a former Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force. This report has a number of recommendations and an improvement action plan is being prepared for implementation over the next 12 months – including designating a group of agencies to drive the action plan so that it is not displaced by “real world” events and activities.
I have been chief executive for only a few brief months. I look forward to
working with my colleagues over the coming year, particularly the senior management
team, to further enhance the capability and effectiveness of the department
so that we can deliver the support the Prime Minister and the Governor-General
deserve. The department has a key role to play in the governmental structure.
We are entrusted with a range of vital responsibilities, which we must discharge
to the highest level possible. Achieving the necessary levels of policy advice
and service performance will be an ongoing challenge, but I am confident the
staff are committed to achieving excellence in the delivery of their respective
roles.
I should like to record that I have taken over from Mark Prebble, the former Chief Executive, a department that is in good heart. I thank all the department’s employees for their efforts and achievements over the last, very challenging year, and record my own commitment to lead them as best I can in the period ahead.
Maarten Wevers CNZM
Chief Executive