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The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (''Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata'' in
Māori) is an independent Officer of the
New Zealand Parliament appointed by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
on the recommendation of the
House of Representatives for a five-year term under the
Environment Act 1986. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment replaced the Commission for the Environment, a Government agency which was formed in 1972.
Role
The Commissioner is one of three officers of Parliament (the Ombudsmen and the controller and auditor general) who are independent of the executive and who may review activities of the executive government and report directly to Parliament.
The Commissioner's role is to review and provide advice on
environmental issues and the system of agencies and processes established by the Government to manage the environment. The primary objective of the office is to contribute to maintaining and improving the quality of the environment in New Zealand through advice given to Parliament, local councils, business,
tangata whenua, communities and other public agencies.
The Commissioner may:
* investigate any matter where the environment may be, or has been adversely affected;
* assess the capability, performance and effectiveness of the New Zealand system of environmental management; and
* provide advice and information that will assist people to maintain and improve the quality of the environment.
Commissioners
Commissioners for the environment
*
Ian Baumgart
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
(1974–1980)
Parliamentary commissioners for the environment
References
External links
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
{{authority control
Environment, Parliamentary Commissioner for the
PCE
Officers of the Parliament of New Zealand