Source: Radio New Zealand
Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Public Service Commissioner says it is “likely” the commission will run social media advertisements on public sector negotiations again, as it engages an independent party to review their use.
In early November, Labour’s MP Camilla Belich wrote to the Auditor-General, requesting it investigate the commission’s decision to purchase Facebook advertisements in the build-up to October’s ‘mega-strike’.
On Monday, the Auditor-General Grant Taylor said he had been advised by the commission it had engaged an external party to carry out a review, acknowledging potential lessons.
The commission appeared before Parliament’s Governance and Administration Committee on Tuesday.
Belich, who is also the committee’s chair, asked Roche whether he had anything to explain to the committee regarding the advertisements.
In its report, the commission noted it was the first time since 1997 that the commissioner had retained the collective bargaining delegation for primary and secondary school teachers and principals.
Roche said that strengthened role in bargaining had taken “a lot of resource” and it was important “that we made sure that the facts were made available”.
He said social media was a “critical channel” for people to get information, and it was “entirely appropriate” to participate.
“But I acknowledge it was the first time that we had done it in a bargaining context, and there was a lot of public commentary, which is why I initiated a review immediately after the event itself. Because I think it’s important that we are both scrutinised and that we learn,” he said.
“It is likely that we will do this again, and I wanted to make sure that we were as best as we could be, but I acknowledge it was the first time, and I also accept the public commentary.”
He did not accept a question from Belich over whether the advertisements may have affected the public’s perception of the commission’s neutrality, but the review was to ensure the commission was holding the highest levels of integrity.
“The bargaining has been fraught this year, it’s been very challenging, it’s been done in a very, very constrained fiscal environment, and from time to time the information that was coming from the people we were negotiating with was not factual and it was not accurate, and that is actually unhelpful to a broader functioning community.”
Roche acknowledged he could have kept ministers more informed about the steps the commission was taking.
If the review found the use of the advertisements was not appropriate, then “absolutely” the commission would not run them again.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Roche said he instigated the review as a “learning exercise,” and that the Auditor-General was comfortable with the commission’s process of instigating the review itself.
He committed to making the review public when it was in a position to do so.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
