I was previously living and working in London, and I knew a lot of New Zealanders where
I was working in London and they seemed like really great people so I thought it would
be a really good opportunity to come to New Zealand and try it out for myself.
I was attracted to New Zealand because I’d done a lot of research. I thought that the
culture would suit both me and my daughter – we moved here at the same time.
We were looking for a change in lifestyle. Somewhere safe to bring up the kids and
a bit more relaxing in terms of less travel, less kind of busyness, but still a good and
rewarding place to work.
The thing I found surprising about New Zealand was just how friendly and welcoming New Zealand was
generally and, in particular, the Office.
New Zealanders, most of them have travelled a lot, so they’re quite helpful for other
people who have travelled or moved overseas. And also Wellington’s a relatively small
city so it’s really easy to get to know it and get to know your way around so you don’t
feel like a stranger for too long.
The Performance Audit Group – or the PAG team – is made up of quite a variety of
different people from different backgrounds.
Across the Office, PAG probably employs the most diverse group of people – lots of different
backgrounds and skills. We have people who are more on the analyst side, and people who
are on the generalist side – amazing general knowledge, lots of personalities, so working
with the people in PAG has been really entertaining.
The great strength of the team is the mix of people we have and the different perspectives
they bring to the issues we look at.
The OAG itself, as an entity, has a vantage point that almost no other entities have.
We get to look across all government agencies – anywhere that the government spends money,
we can go and look.
And we also give assurance to Parliament that things are working in the way that they intended.
That involves talking to people – people right from chief executives down to people
that work on the front lines, so you get to meet a real variety of people which is really interesting.
Because our work programme varies from year to year, I think there’s probably more scope
to do work in different areas and get broader experience, I think.
We’re independent, and we work in a society where we can say what we want in terms of
what we find so we can have real influence and real traction, and that’s really important.
You really feel that you’re making a difference.
And we’re part of a bigger system of accountability in New Zealand that helps us ensure that there’s
a transparency and accountability through government.
All our reports are available for the public, and they’re the people whose money – the
taxpayers – whose money is being spent on all the activities that we look at, and so
we help give them assurance that their money’s being used properly.
So it’s a really unique, really interesting job, and it certainly gets me out of bed
in the morning.
As a prospective immigrant, you need to look at what your pros and cons are. For us, it
was things like it’s a very safe country – New Zealand is one of the safest countries
in the world – and I think if you come out here and you make careful choices, and you’re
careful and considered with what you do and where you settle, you can enjoy a good standard
of living surrounded by people who are generally quite courteous and kind
and will look out for you.
I think people should consider whether they’re moving to New Zealand for the right reasons,
and to do some good research and a financial viability check before they get here.
Yeah, I think, you know, you have to consider the risks that go with it I guess. There are
risks, but I think the benefits far outweigh those risks.
The people that have done the best here have been the ones who have embraced the opportunities
and the positive reasons for them coming here.
Most of all, you should come to New Zealand with an open mind. It is a very welcoming
and encouraging country. You will have a great life when you get here.
If you don’t come and give it a try, then you’ll never know what it’s like.
If you do come and give it a try and it’s not for you, at least you gave it a go.