Chapter 5
Engagement
International cooperation and regional support
The Commonwealth Ombudsman cooperates nationally and internationally with a range of agencies to improve complaint handling and ombudsman services in the Asia–Pacific region. Our office has an International Program that undertakes a range of important activities with Ombudsmen and their offices in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the nations of the Pacific Islands Forum and Indonesia. This work builds linkages and provides mutual support for ombudsman functions, and is funded mainly by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). There were three milestones during the year:
- we entered into a new memorandum of agreement with the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea (OCPNG) to run for a minimum of three years
- the Indonesian Parliament passed legislation to create a new Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia, and we started working closely with our Indonesian partners during the transition phase as the new legislation is implemented
- in collaboration with our Pacific Islands Forum partners, we launched the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance.
Papua New Guinea Twinning Program
Our Twinning Program with the OCPNG commenced in 2005. The original memorandum of agreement between our organisations ended on 31 January 2009. The first stage of the PNG Twinning Program achieved a great deal, including:
- the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Royal PNG Constabulary and the OCPNG (more detail is in our 2007–08 annual report)
- preliminary steps taken towards a memorandum of agreement between the PNG Defence Force and the OCPNG
- improved efficiencies at the front desk of the Internal Screening Unit of the OCPNG, resulting in an improved capacity to handle an increased number of cases
- assistance with quality assurance for upgrading OCPNG's electronic complaint management system
- a substantial reduction in the backlog of investigations for the Complaints and Administrative Investigation Division of the OCPNG
- an increase in the number of cases escalated from the Internal Screening Unit for further investigation by the Complaints and Administrative Investigation Division, providing a more effective complaint–handling service
- an expanded group of Australian Government agencies acted as hosts for staff placements from the OCPNG, including the Inspector–General of the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity
- a growing camaraderie between OCPNG and Commonwealth Ombudsman staff to share experiences and lessons from ombudsman work
- the use of video conferencing to enhance interaction and mutual support between peer groups in both agencies.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Chief Ombudsman of Papua New Guinea signed a new memorandum of agreement in early 2009. It updates and strengthens the first memorandum, using the lessons learned over the past three–and–a–half years of our work together. The program will ensure a minimum of two placements from PNG and one placement to PNG each year, as well as short–term specialist exchanges and increased use of electronic communications to strengthen the long–term sustainability of our relationship.
Major activities under the Twinning Program during 2008–09 included:
- An OCPNG officer spent two months working on Defence Force issues in our office, and a week in the office of the Inspector–General of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a team that audited ADF establishments in Western Australia. His work will contribute to an OCPNG project with the PNG Defence Force to revamp its complaint–handling system.
- Another OCPNG officer, who coordinates the memorandum of agreement between the OCPNG and the Royal PNG Constabulary, spent time in our office's Law Enforcement Team and in the office of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
- A specialist from our Public Contact Team spent three months working with the OCPNG's Internal Screening Unit to assist them in enhancing their complaint intake processes.
- OCPNG Ombudsman Ms Phoebe Sangetari visited Canberra for senior level discussions on ombudsman functions and management.
- We provided support to the OCPNG's human resources management through the short–term placement of a specialist from our office.
Indonesian Australian Ombudsman Linkages and Strengthening activities
The Indonesian Australian Ombudsman Linkages and Strengthening (IAOLAS) activities are part of the AusAID–funded Government Partnership Fund. The original program was extended from June 2009 to June 2010. This will allow the Commonwealth Ombudsman to work with the newly constituted Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI). Indonesia's National Ombudsman Commission was created by executive decree in 2000. In 2008 the Indonesian Parliament passed enabling legislation to put the ombudsman function on a more secure and effective legislative footing. IAOLAS activities, coordinated by our office, supported the following areas during 2008–09:
- In November 2008 the Chief Ombudsman of Indonesia, Mr Antonius Sujata, and two staff visited Canberra for discussions about the creation and operation of a parliamentary ombudsman system. During the discussions, we agreed on our involvement in the 12–month transition phase for the new Ombudsman structure.
- In January 2009 the Commonwealth Ombudsman and two staff attended seminars and meetings in Jakarta to support the Chief Ombudsman of Indonesia in setting the foundation for the emerging ORI.
- A Commonwealth Deputy Ombudsman, Dr Vivienne Thom, participated in two focus discussion groups held in regional Indonesia to explain the emergence of the ORI and its greatly expanded jurisdiction from the previous National Ombudsman Commission.
- Work continued on developing processes to improve internal complaint handling in the Lands Department, with support from the NSW Ombudsman and a team from Gadjah Mada University. The Lands Department has acknowledged that improvements to these processes are vital, given its role in managing Indonesia's land titles system.
- Two senior Indonesian investigation officers worked with the NSW Ombudsman's office for two weeks to look at the development of better complaint–handling systems through strengthening professional relationships with agencies within the Ombudsman's jurisdiction.
- Mr Rully Amirulloh, IT manager of the National Ombudsman Commission in Jakarta, visited our office to work on emerging IT challenges.
Pacific Ombudsman Alliance
The inauguration of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance in October 2008 was a major milestone in developing relations with Pacific Island Ombudsmen. The Alliance had its origin in 2006 when AusAID sought the Commonwealth Ombudsman's assistance in establishing coordinated regional ombudsman services. This was in response to the Pacific Plan for Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Integration (Pacific Plan). The Pacific Plan was signed by all Pacific Islands Forum leaders in 2005.
The Alliance grew from the network of Pacific Ombudsmen (the Commonwealth Ombudsman, and representatives from Ombudsman offices of the Cook Islands, NSW, New Zealand, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu) and more recent work with representatives from Pacific Island nations that do not have an Ombudsman (Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu). The Alliance is a sustainable and realistic way to meet the goals of the Pacific Plan for a mechanism to coordinate regional ombudsman services.
The Pacific Ombudsman Alliance serves to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination between Pacific Island Ombudsmen as well as those working to establish ombudsman functions and like agencies. It provides the institutional form, capacity and resources to coordinate and deliver additional services to all Pacific Islands Forum countries.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman was elected the first chair of the Alliance Board. Our office provides the core of the Board's secretariat and we coordinate or are directly involved in a range of activities, including:
- developing ombudsman legislation and improvements in complaint handling in Palau
- scoping improved complaint–handling processes in Niue
- revising Tonga's legislation, with further support planned for the next Ombudsman
- revising Samoa's legislation and support for strengthening the Samoan Ombudsman's operations
- working to strengthen professional relationships between the Ombudsman and police to improve complaint handling and professional standards in Samoa and Tonga
- further work to support small island states without an Ombudsman through a working group linked directly to the Pacific Islands Forum Governance Advisor
- maintaining regular communication with members and stakeholders
- building an electronic community of practitioners to share resources, advice and experience
- further review of training needs and production of training materials.
In addition, through Alliance linkages, the New Zealand Office of the Ombudsmen has provided support to Vanuatu and the Cook Islands, and our office has released a staff member to support the Solomon Islands Ombudsman through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.
Other international cooperation
During the year we hosted or participated in meetings with a number of international visitors exploring issues related to good governance. This included:
- a human rights delegation from Vietnam
- a delegation from the Ministry of Supervision in the People's Republic of China
- a delegation from the Bureau for Letters and Calls in the People's Republic of China
- the Chief Inspector of the United Kingdom Border Agency
- the Attorney General of the United Kingdom.
The Ombudsman attended the IXth World Conference of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), held in Sweden, and which celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Swedish Ombudsman. The conference provided an opportunity for Ombudsmen from around the world to discuss a wide range of topics of mutual interest and to take part in discussions and influence decisions concerning the future goals and work of the IOI. A brief summary of the international history of the Ombudsman function is provided in Chapter 8—Ombudsmen—200 years of service.
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