The Chief Ombudsman has sided with an ACC whistleblower who complained that their organisation was trying to hide the true cost associated with a top dog’s farewell function.
The whistleblower broke ranks with ACC, citing protection from the 2022 ‘Protection of Whistleblowers Act’, to raise their concerns directly with the Ombudsman.
Thanks to the whistleblower’s complaint, the Ombudsman has revealed how ACC managers pressured staff not to reveal the full cost of a 2023 farewell function. That was despite a senior manager admitting “everyone”, even the organisation’s top brass, knew it was the wrong call.
They revealed the internal debate which took place at ACC, when it was asked - via the Official Information Act - how much has been spent on a deputy chief executive’s farewell function.
Back in August 2023, Stuff chief political correspondent Tova O'Brien asked ACC to provide details about how much it had spent on staff functions.
This followed the resignation of deputy chief executive Michelle Murray, who left ACC in July that year.
In August, ACC replied to Stuff and asked if the request could be altered - to save time - so it only included information about functions which costed $10,000 or more. The organisation then replied, saying that it had not spent more than $10,000 on any staff function over the past five years.
But the whistleblower has revealed that staff working at ACC had calculated that the cost of Murray’s farewell function, including travel and...
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