A.2

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004

Parliamentary Service Commission Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to Schedule 2, Clause 11 of the Parliamentary Service Act 2000

Report of the Parliamentary Service Commission

Membership and Committees

The Parliamentary Service Commission comprises representatives from all parties represented in Parliament. The membership of the Parliamentary Service Commission from 1 July 2003 was:

Rt. Hon Jonathan Hunt, MP (Chair) Hon David Benson-Pope, MP (representing the Labour party until March 2004) , MP (representing the Leader of the Opposition, and the National party) Hon , MP (representing the Leader of the House, and the Labour party) John Carter, MP (representing the National party) Rod Donald, MP (representing the Green party) Hon Brian Donnelly, MP (representing the NZ First party) Hon Peter Dunne, MP (representing the ) Jill Pettis, MP (representing the Labour party from March 2004 onwards) Hon Matt Robson, MP (representing the Progressive Coalition party) Hon Ken Shirley, MP (representing the ACT New Zealand party)

The House Committee was a committee of the Commission and its members comprised:

Ann Hartley, MP (Chair) , MP , MP , MP Sue Kedgley, MP Pita Paraone, MP , MP

Sub-committees

Security

John Carter, MP (Chair) Hon David Benson-Pope, MP until March 2004 Ron Mark, MP Jill Pettis, MP from March 2004

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 2 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

Arts Purchasing

Hon David Benson-Pope, MP Rt. Hon Jonathan Hunt, MP , MP

Members' Services

Hon David Benson-Pope, MP John Carter, MP Ron Donald, MP Hon Peter Dunne, MP

The Hon Mark Burton, MP, and John Carter, MP, were the Parliamentary Service Commission appointees to the Parliamentary Corporation pursuant to section 29(1)(c) of the Parliamentary Service Act 2000.

Thirteen meetings of the Parliamentary Service Commission were held throughout the year ending 30 June 2004.

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 3 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

New Zealand House of Representative 150th Anniversary

This year, the House marked the 150th anniversary of representative government in New Zealand. It is worth reflecting on the fact that our House of Representatives is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislative chambers in the world.

Leading up to the anniversary, the first history of the House of Representatives, The House: New Zealand's House of Representatives 1854- 2004, by Dr John Martin, was published and launched at Parliament. The Parliamentary Service partnered with the Auckland City Council to develop the first parliament site in Auckland, now a city reserve. A 'footprint' of the original building was reconstructed, a commemorative plaque marking the old entrance to the building was unveiled and historical information signage was installed. The New Zealand Portrait Gallery, in association with Parliament, mounted a special exhibition to mark 150 years of Parliament in New Zealand.

Appropriations Review

A second Appropriations Review Committee, chaired by John Goulter and including Hon Margaret Shields and Hon Doug Kidd, has begun its review of parliamentary appropriations in accordance with the Parliamentary Service Act 2000. The Committee will be reviewing administrative and support services to the House of Representatives and to members of Parliament, and funding entitlements for parliamentary purposes.

Review of Travel, Accommodation, Attendance and Communications Services for Members

This review, begun in the 2002/03 financial year, culminated in the issuing of the Parliamentary Travel, Accommodation, Attendance, and Communications Services Determination 2003 (2003/307), which came into force on 1 November 2003. The determination, issued by the Speaker, includes the principles to be applied in respect to travel, accommodation, attendance, and communications services for members of Parliament. The principles are:

• Cost-effective principle — wherever reasonably practical, members should endeavour to use the most cost-effective alternative available.

• Evidence of costs incurred — a person must produce evidence of costs incurred and a receipt to the Parliamentary Service before being entitled to be reimbursed for the cost of any entitlement.

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 4 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

• Monitoring of aggregate expenditure by whips — each whip must monitor, on a monthly basis, the aggregate expenditure by members in his or her party, including expenditure in respect of members' families, in respect of the entitlements and if excessive costs are being incurred by a party, a whip may advise any one or more members that the member should limit, or not incur, any further costs in that year.

• Alternative arrangements — a member may ask the Speaker for approval to make alternative arrangements for entitlements providing the Speaker is satisfied that the cost of the service represents a fair return for the service provided and that the cost of providing the activity in a different way would be less than the cost to the Vote of the entitlement provided in the usual way.

• Cost to be met from Vote — the cost of any entitlement in the Determination is met fully from Vote: Parliamentary Service unless expressly noted otherwise or if the entitlement is to be met from Vote: Ministerial Services.

Resourcing Members of Parliament and Parliamentary Political Parties

During the previous financial year, the Auditor-General was asked to conduct an inquiry into certain electorate and out of Parliament offices run by the ACT parliamentary party to determine whether these offices were established and managed in a manner inconsistent with guidance issued by the Parliamentary Service and whether the ACT party had achieved an inappropriate financial advantage.

While the Auditor-General decided not to take any further action as a result of investigations made, a recommendation was made for a principle-based review of existing guidelines for the use of resources by members. The Commission therefore undertook to formulate principles for resourcing members of Parliament and parliamentary parties. These principles are, in brief:

• Accountability — members are personally responsible for the way they and parliamentary political parties use the public resources entrusted to them;

• Appropriateness — members and parliamentary political parties will only incur expenditure on "parliamentary business;"

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 5 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

• Integrity — members and parliamentary political parties must use public resources only for the purposes for which they are provided and in accordance with the conditions attached to the provision of such resources;

• Openness — members and parliamentary political parties must be open in the use of public resources and disclose any conflict of interests in utilising entitlements;

• Transparency — the reasons for, and the circumstances surrounding, the use of public resources by individual members or parliamentary political parties should be publicly available. The process by which funds are expended should also be publicly known; and

• Value for money — when using the public resources entrusted to them to perform their official duties, members and parliamentary political parties must seek the appropriate value for money in the circumstances.

These principles have now been incorporated into the Members' Handbook of Services.

Member and Party Advertising Guidelines

The Commission worked on updating and clarifying the rules on the use and content of advertising for members and parliamentary political parties "parliamentary business." The Commission considered, in particular, the issue of electronic mailing contact addresses and website addresses and the proper format for such addresses when using Vote: Parliamentary Service funding.

The Commission wished to ensure that the use of public resources was, in advertising by members and parliamentary political parties, seen by the public to be for legitimate purposes including:

• promoting or providing details of services offered to the public; or

• providing material of an informational nature to inform the recipient of the member's or parliamentary political party's views on public issues of the day; or

• information about a member's or parliamentary political party's activities.

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 6 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata

Enhanced Security Measures at Parliament

Following a review of security measures last year, the Commission has been working through the recommendations of that report. Progress continues towards the provision of magnetometers, x-ray facilities and a new service delivery facility in the complex as well as ensuring the security of entry and exit points. The full installation of the enhancements complex-wide are being coordinated with the Executive Wing and Bowen House refurbishment projects due for completion near the end of 2005.

RT. HON JONATHAN HUNT Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chair of the Parliamentary Service Commission

Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2004 Parliamentary Service Commission 7 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata