Sir Peter Boshier, of Wellington, KNZM for services to the State and the judiciary
Sir Peter Boshier was the Chief Ombudsman from 2015 to 2025, responsible for handling complaints about and investigating the administrative conduct of public sector agencies, including official information requests. Sir Peter was appointed to the District Court in 1988 as a Family Court Judge, subsequently being appointed as the Principal Family Court Judge in 2004. Sir Peter held that position until 2012 when he was appointed a Law Commissioner. As Chief Ombudsman, Sir Peter’s focus was on faster and more effective resolution of Official Information Act (OIA) and other complaints; working with government agencies to improve their practices and strengthening his team’s investigation; monitoring of prisons, secure aged care and public mental health facilities; and a much greater prevalence of proactive disclosure on agencies’ websites. He considered over 14,000 OIA complaints and conducted 37 proactive investigations of the official information practices of central government agencies. He was active in the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), serving between 2019 and 2022 as President of the Australasia and Pacific Region and then as Second Vice President of the IOI. Sir Peter was elected President of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in the United States of America, the only New Zealander to hold that position.