Publications produced during 2011

This is a list of the publications produced in 2011 (the most recent items are listed first).
Managing the implications of public private partnerships

November 2011: This discussion paper has been written to inform public sector leaders and decision-makers considering partnering with the private sector about the general features of PPPs and the factors that are seen as important in sustaining an appropriate "enabling" environment for all PPPs...

Transpower New Zealand Limited: Managing risks to transmission assets

September 2011: We audited how well Transpower is managing risks to the transmission system. We wanted to establish whether the owner and operator of the national electricity grid understood well the capacity constraints facing the grid and the risks posed by the condition of the grid assets, and was using this understanding to better maintain and invest in the grid...

Managing freshwater quality: Challenges for regional councils

September 2011: We carried out an audit to provide an independent view of how effectively four selected regional councils are managing and controlling land use and related activities for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing freshwater quality in their regions...

Government planning and support for housing on Māori land

September 2011: We examined the effectiveness of government support for Māori seeking to build housing on their land. We found that, despite good intentions, the process to build a house on Māori land is fraught. Lessons have not been learned from past attempts, so the initiatives are not effectively targeted and the processes are not streamlined...

The Emissions Trading Scheme - summary information for public entities and auditors

August 2011: This document informs public entities and their auditors about how the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) operates and how it is likely to affect them. It summarises information about the ETS that we have gathered from the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Economic Development…

Planning to meet the forecast demand for drinking water in Auckland

August 2011: A letter from the Auditor-General to the Chief Executives of Auckland Council and Watercare Services Limited on governance issues and a report on our initial findings and recommendations for Watercare to consider when developing its long-term plans for asset management and for funding arrangements...

Home-based support services for older people

July 2011: We carried out a performance audit to establish how effective the Ministry of Health and district health boards are in ensuring that, where appropriate, people aged 65 and over (older people) get the care and support they need to remain living independently at home...

Inland Revenue Department: Making it easy to comply

June 2011: We carried out a performance audit to see how effective Inland Revenue is in making it easy for taxpayers to comply with their obligations to pay tax. As part of the audit, we tested Inland Revenue's website with two groups of taxpayers – tradespeople and rental property owners – who had new tax obligations...

Progress in delivering publicly funded scheduled services to patients

June 2011: This report assesses progress made in achieving the government strategy "Reduced Waiting Times for Public Hospital Elective Services". There has been good progress over 10 years but there is more to do to ensure that patients are assessed in a nationally consistent way, and seen and treated in priority order...

Final audits of Auckland's dissolved councils, and managing leaky home liabilities

June 2011: This report summarises our auditing of the financial and service performance statements in the final annual reports of the eight dissolved Auckland local authorities and 19 terminated council-controlled organisations. The report also looks at the effects on local authorities of leaky home liabilities - effects greatest in cities, especially Auckland...