Report of the Ministry for the Environment

1 Overview

2 Statement of Service Performance for the Year Ended 30 June 2008

3 Financial Statements for the Ministry for the Environment

4 Non-Departmental Statement and Schedules for the Year Ended 30 June 2008

5 Strengthening our Capability

6 Development Goals for the State Services

7 Environmental Report

8 Management of the Ministry

9 Contact Information

8. Management of the Ministry  

Human Resources

The Ministry employs approximately 300 staff, most of whom are policy advisers, whose main roles are giving advice to the Government on environmental issues and implementing government decisions. The Ministry’s policy staff come from a wide range of professional, technical and scientific backgrounds, including resource management, law, engineering, and science. Many people have previously worked in local government, the private sector, or other central government agencies. The Ministry has a young staff, with the average age being 37.7 years. Our area of work is attractive, as more people want to work in the field of environmental sustainability.

In 2007/08 the Ministry continued to progress a range of organisational development and human resources projects. These projects are aligned with the organisation’s strategic direction and contribute significantly to the State Services Development Goals.

As outlined in the section related to the State Services Development Goals, a Conflict of Interest Guideline has been developed, which supports our obligations as public sector employees. Impartiality and transparency in public roles are important to maintain the integrity of the public sector. Managing conflicts of interest well, is not only good practice, but it also protects employees and provides the public with confidence that actions taken in an official capacity are not influenced by an individual’s private interests.

Equal Employment Opportunities

The Ministry contributes to the New Zealand Positive Aging Strategy which is a partnership between central and local government and their communities. The Positive Aging Strategy has 10 goals and the Ministry has been working on three of them, including the retention of older workers, work life balance, and preparing for retirement. This work contributes to the Ministry’s workforce capability and ensures staff are provided with equal employment opportunities.

Profile of Ministry staff at 30 June 2008

 

The number of Ministry staff as at 30 June grew from 286 in 2007 to 313 in 2008. This can be attributed to the Ministry’s expanding portfolio and work streams for the 2007/2008 year. However, the profile of staff is similar to that of previous years.

Percentage of women in management at 30 June

 

There has been an increase in the proportion of women in management, from 36% in 2007 to 38% in 2008. While this is lower than the current equal employment opportunity (EEO) target of 40% for 2010, the EEO target appears to be achievable.

Core unplanned turnover of staff at 30 June

 

The core unplanned turnover for this financial year is 20.9%, an increase on the previous year’s turnover rate of 19.1%. Similarly to last year, much of the turnover has been from those in management and advisory positions. This could be attributed to demand in the public sector for policy advisory staff and a wider demand for people with environmental expertise.

Average age of Ministry for the Environment staff at 30 June

 

At 30 June 2008, the average age for all Ministry for the Environment’s staff was 37.7 years of age. This is a slight increase over last year’s average age of 37.5 years.

Average length of service at 30 June

 

The average length of service within the Ministry is 2.94 years, which is a decrease from the previous year’s average of 3.9 years. These figures can be explained by an increase in overall staff turnover, and by the rate of new staff joining the Ministry.

Information Management

The Ministry continues to build on its information management capability. We refined and implemented internal processes to better manage our information technology and information management systems.

A number of significant information initiatives were completed in 2007/08, including:

• construction of a dedicated video conferencing facility at Environment House

• development of a new Financial Management Information System

• workflow-based Contract Management System improvements and integration with the Financial Management Information System

• installation of more energy efficient computer hardware

• construction of a library to house published material, which has special relevance to environmental issues

• development of the Sustainability website

• development of a web presence for World Environment Day.

In 2008/09 the Ministry will update its Information Management Strategy. One of the key deliverables will be a programme to upgrade the capability and robustness of the Ministry’s systems to support the increasing reach of the organisation’s interests. Another will be the work programme to comply with the Public Records Act 2005.

Crown Entity Monitoring

The Environmental Risk Management Authority

During 2007/08, the Ministry continued to monitor the performance of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand), on behalf of the Minister for the Environment. The Ministry held six-weekly liaison meetings with the senior management of ERMA New Zealand to discuss emerging issues, potential risks and progress on matters of relevance to ERMA New Zealand. Senior Ministry staff also maintained regular contact with the Chief Executive of ERMA New Zealand to ensure any key issues were addressed quickly and effectively. Additional meetings were held as required, both with the Chair of the Authority and with ERMA New Zealand staff. The Ministry also reviewed quarterly reports and drafts of other key accountability documents received from the Authority in order to monitor ERMA New Zealand’s progress against its annual objectives.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority

During 2007/08, the Ministry continued to monitor the performance of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), on behalf of the Minister of Energy. The Ministry held regular liaison meetings with EECA’s management team to discuss emerging issues, potential risks and progress on matters of relevance to EECA. Senior Ministry staff maintained regular contact with EECA’s Chief Executive, held weekly informal meetings with senior EECA staff and attended weekly meetings between the EECA executive and Jeanette Fitzsimons in her role as Government Spokesperson on Energy Efficiency and Conservation.

Ministry staff also reviewed quarterly reports and drafts of other key accountability documents received from the Authority in order to monitor EECA’s progress against its key outputs. The Ministry handed over EECA governance and primary energy efficiency policy responsibilities to the Ministry of Economic Development on 1 July 2008.

Management Structure

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