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24-626: The Electoral Commission ( Māori : Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri ) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament . It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums , promoting compliance with electoral laws, servicing the work of the Representation Commission, and the provision of advice, reports and public education on electoral matters. The commission also assists electoral agencies of other countries on

48-607: A Board of Management under Cabinet to have 'absolute and undisputed power' in 'all matters relating to the control and management of the Service – ... appointments, salaries, promotion, suspensions, dismissals, and indeed everything affecting officers – '. The Hunt Commission and its recommendations lead to the Public Service Act 1912 and the role of the Public Service Commissioner. The Act and

72-591: A Commissioner to do so, but has the power to retain a chief executive against the Commissioner's advice. The position of State Services Commissioner is one of the few positions in New Zealand's public service where Ministers are directly involved. The appointment and dismissal procedures and the term of office are set forth in the State Sector Act 1988, as amended from time to time. Section 3 of

96-489: A central role in New Zealand's public service. One of the Commissioner's most visible roles is in the employment, supervision and dismissal of senior executives in individual Government departments; by preventing Ministers of the Crown from becoming personally involved in employment decisions, this acts as a safeguard against politicisation of the public service. The Commissioner also has power to issue codes of conduct for parts of

120-459: A culture change towards a focus on political neutrality. The State Sector Act 1988 reverted to having a single State Services Commissioner, adding the position of Deputy State Services Commissioner. Ministers were granted some role in the appointments of departmental chief executives. There was some concern at the time that this would revert the system to a pre-1912 state. Following the Review of

144-557: A new independent Electoral Commission which was given overarching responsibility to administer elections. The Electoral Commission, which took over the responsibilities of the Chief Electoral Office and the previous Electoral Commission, was formed on Friday 1 October 2010. On 1 July 2012 the statutory responsibilities of the Electoral Enrolment Centre of New Zealand Post were transferred to

168-646: A range of responsibilities for the public service , the State Services and the wider state sector . The position has previously been known as the Public Service Commissioner, Chairman of the Public Service Commissioner, Chairman of the State Services Commission, and Chief Commissioner of the Public Service Commission. The current Public Service Commissioner is Heather Baggott. The State Services Commissioner plays

192-484: A reciprocal basis with their electoral events. The Electoral Act 1993 defines the objective of the Electoral Commission as "to administer the electoral system impartially, efficiently, effectively, and in a way that – The functions of the Electoral Commission are defined by law and in summary comprise: The Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity. The responsible Minister may not direct

216-607: Is responsible for: The Governor-General in Council may override the Commissioner's recommendation by appointing a different person to the vacant executive post. A chief executive may not be appointed for any longer than five years. Under the State Services Act, the Commissioner negotiates terms and conditions of employment with each Departmental chief executive, subject to the approval of the Prime Minister and

240-714: The Chief Electoral Office and the Electoral Enrolment Centre . The four primary functions of the previous Electoral Commission were: For most business, the previous Electoral Commission consisted of four members – a President, a Chief Executive, the head of the Ministry of Justice , and the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court . Two additional members, one appointed by the Government and one by

264-535: The 1993 Electoral Act. Crown entity Crown entities come under the following types: Crown entities can be contrasted with other New Zealand public sector organisational forms: departments of state , state-owned enterprises , offices of Parliament and sui generis organisations like the Reserve Bank . Under the Crown Entities Act, ministers are required to "oversee and manage"

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288-650: The Act specifies that the Commissioner is to be appointed by the Governor-General in Council on the recommendation of the Prime Minister . Section 13 limits the term of office to five years, though this term may be further reduced in the Order in Council in which the appointment is made. Section 17 of the Act lists a small number of circumstances in which the Commissioner is deemed to have resigned. Otherwise,

312-664: The Centre in 2001, the State Sector Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 and the Crown Entities Act 2004 extended the role of the Commissioner beyond the Public Service to the wider State Services (such as Crown entities , but not Crown Research Institutes ), and beyond State Services to the wider state sector. The State Sector Act establishes the position of Deputy State Services Commissioner, who

336-505: The Commissioner is well protected. The Governor-General has no power to dismiss the Commissioner. The Governor-General may suspend the Commissioner under Section 16 for misbehaviour or incompetence, but must then explain why to the House of Representatives within seven sitting days; and even then the Commissioner is safe in his position unless the House resolves within three weeks after receiving

360-550: The Crown's interests in the Crown entities within their portfolio (sections 27 and 88). The board of the entity has the key role in ensuring the entity is achieving results within budget. This is done by a monitoring department on behalf of the minister unless other arrangements for monitoring are made. Monitoring departments make explicit agreements with their minister, setting out what monitoring they will undertake and how they will do it. Crown entity boards should also facilitate clear and transparent monitoring, for example, by providing

384-538: The Governor-General's explanation to remove him or her from office. Otherwise, the Commissioner is restored to office. At the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, New Zealand's public sector was widely considered to be inefficient and wasteful. The incoming MacKenzie administration launched the Hunt Commission on the civil service. The Hunt Commission recommended the establishment of

408-502: The Minister of State Services. The Commissioner may also recommend that a given chief executive be reappointed when the executive's contract expires, though the Government is free to ignore such a recommendation. The Commissioner is empowered, with the agreement of the Government, to dismiss a Departmental chief executive, "for just cause or excuse". That is, the Government is by law forbidden from firing any chief executive or instructing

432-609: The Opposition, participate in the commission e.g. on the allocation of broadcasting funds. This participation is generally condemned by smaller parties, which claim that Labour and National unfairly monopolised funding. These additional members were removed by Labour in 2007 by the Electoral Finance Act ; but the Act was repealed by National in 2009, with clauses of the EFA dealing with donation disclosure inserted into

456-550: The commission in accordance with the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011. The previous Electoral Commission of New Zealand (1993–2010) was a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country's electoral system . It was an independent Crown entity, not part of any larger department or Ministry , and was established under the Electoral Act 1993 . It worked alongside two other bodies,

480-718: The commission to give effect to, or have regard to, government policy. In addition: The Electoral Commission Board has three members, appointed by the Governor-General, including one member as the Chairperson, one member as the Deputy Chairperson and the Chief Electoral Officer , who is the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission. The Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill, passed unanimously by Parliament 19 May 2010, established

504-543: The minister and monitoring department with good information on which to make judgements about performance. This table is based on one from the State Services Commission . Abbreviations used : State Services Commission The Public Service Commission ( PSC ; Māori : Te Kawa Mataaho ), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving

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528-421: The new Commissioner removed Ministers' direct involvement in appointments and personnel administration, separating the 'political' and 'administrative' functions, both in conduct of the Government's business and in management of the Public Service itself. The State Services Act 1962 replaced the Public Service Commissioner with a multi-member Commission comprising a chairman and Commissioner. This point also marked

552-482: The performance of the state sector of New Zealand and its organisations. The PSC's official responsibilities, as defined by the State Sector Act 1988 , include: The role of PSC, as described in the four year plan, is "to work with leaders across the State Services to change the way agencies think, organise and operate". The Public Service Commissioner is the chief executive of the commission and has

576-424: The public service, to investigate Government departments, and to advise the Government on the organisation of the public service. The Commissioner has a statutory duty to act independently of Ministerial direction, except in matters concerning the appointment and dismissal of Departmental chief executives. Regarding the appointment of Departmental chief executives, the Commissioner plays a key role. The Commissioner

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