NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour has played a leading role in the establishment of a new alliance of Ombudsmen from 11 South Pacific countries. Mr Barbour and the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan, are the Australian members of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance which includes Ombudsmen from the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and New Zealand. Professor McMillan was elected inaugural Chair of the alliance at its first meeting in Brisbane.
Pacific Alliance unveiled
The Alliance was established as part of the Pacific Islands Forum ‘Pacific Plan’ initiative, which was put in place to promote good governance. Professor McMillan said a part of that aim included strengthening ombudsmen services throughout the region. “A key aim of the Alliance is to support the development of legislation and programs that recognise the right of citizens to transparent and accountable Government services,” he said. “The Alliance aims to foster integrity in the delivery of Government services by supporting the creation and maintenance of strong ombudsman and allied institutions in the Pacific.” He said Alliance Membership was to expand beyond Ombudsmen’s offices, to any statutory or constitutionally-based organisation protecting people from maladministration, violation of rights, unfairness, abuse of power, corruption or any injustice or lack of procedural fairness by a public authority. The Alliance has been providing advice and support to Palau, Nauru, and Niue as they consider establishing Ombudsmen’s offices. Professor McMillan said the Alliance would be supported by a small secretariat initially located in his office. He said the secretariat would report to a board predominantly made up of Pacific Island representatives. The launch of the Alliance was assisted by funding from the Australian Agency for
International Development, AusAID and it hoped to attract further funds from Australian and New Zealand development agencies to allow it to carry out work in the Pacific over the next five years.
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