Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said she was satisfied with the actions of the State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham regarding the performance of Work and Income NZ (WINZ) Chief Executive Christine Rankin.

I share the public’s irritation and intolerance of ill-considered and inappropriate public expenditure and I expect it to stop.

“The Commissioner has concluded that there was a lack of financial discipline in organising the Taupo training event and that WINZ does not have a clear understanding as to what is acceptable expenditure of public money.

“I support the Commissioner in the actions he proposes to take, which include censuring Ms Rankin for her conduct, reassessing the payment of a bonus to Ms Rankin and requiring WINZ to reinforce appropriate standards for the expenditure of public money.

“I am also pleased that the SSC Commissioner will be reinforcing this latter point to all State Sector Chief Executives.

“While the public service has a difficult job to do, they must be held accountable as to how they spend public money.

“I am satisfied that this has now occurred in terms of the State Service Commissioners review of events in the WINZ case,” Mrs Shipley said.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>