Accountability for refugee resettlement in New Zealand: PhD thesis of Accounting / Thuy Thi Thu Tran ; Rachel Baskerville, Rodney Dormer, Carolyn Fowler supervisor

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

IN NEW ZEALAND

by

THUY THI THU TRAN

A thesis

submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington

in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor in Philosophy

Victoria University of Wellington

2021

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ABSTRACT

Public governance in many countries has been moving toward a model called New Public

Governance (NPG) to deal with the increasing complexity in the provision of public services.

NPG adopts a new perspective that emphasises the importance of managing the interaction

between and among organisations within and outside the government to achieve efficiency

and effectiveness of public policy and service delivery. The interdependent relationships of

these cross-working organisations are reflected in their accountability processes. Thus, a

robust accountability system is central to managing public governance. However,

accountability is complicated, and its definition is regularly debated. Accountability is even

more intricate in network relationships where it is challenging to identify who has contributed

in what way. However, research on accountability in networks is limited.

To contribute to the understanding of the problems of accountability in public governance,

this study examines the nature of accountability and evaluates the discharge of accountability

in the provision of public services in practice, using a case study of refugee resettlement in

New Zealand. The following research question is addressed, “What is the nature of the

accountability relationships between different parties involved in, or affected by, the provision

of social services to former refugees in New Zealand?”. In answering this question, the study

developed a research framework that was built on insights from prior literature and

stakeholder theories and employed a case study approach that analysed 32 semi-structured

interviews and a range of documents related to refugee resettlement in New Zealand.

The study finds that the current accountability system has not reflected the broader

conception of multiple and interrelated accountability relationships identified in the

literature on NPG. Upward accountability to powerful stakeholders is mostly prioritised,

downward accountability to beneficiaries has not significantly improved, and horizontal

accountability to cross-working partners is limited. The tensions between a bureaucratic need

for control and a more devolved governance model that allowsfor the recognition of multiple

contributions to both policy formation and implementation are still strong. Moving from the

New Public Management(NPM) perspective involving control over public money,still codified

in the Public Finance Act 1989, to something closer to NPG is evidently not easy.

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The key academic contribution of this study is in adding an important piece to the nearly

“empty land” of horizontal accountability research, providing an understanding of how

accountability mechanisms are used in practice, and raising the voices of less powerful

stakeholders about the discharge of accountability by social service providers. Regarding its

practical contributions, the study provides a typical case study for research on accountability

of non-government organisations (NGOs) in an NPG context, which can be valuable for

policymakers wishing to develop policies that lead to an improvement in the appropriate

expectations in NPG and accountability relationships between different parties in the delivery

of social services. It also provides recommendations for the government, NGOs, and refugee

communities for achieving greater accountability.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Finally, it comes to the stage that I can express my gratitude to the special people who

strongly supported me to complete this thesis. Looking back on the long journey I have been

going through, this moment is so meaningful and touching to me.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my amazing supervisors,

Professor Rachel Baskerville, Dr Rodney Dormer, and Associate Professor Carolyn Fowler for

their devoted academic guidance and support throughout the process of my PhD study. Each

of you has brought different strengths to this thesis. My knowledge and research skills has

significantly developed from your insightful feedback, thank you.

I am highly appreciative of the people who were willing to participate in my research. Without

their generosity in giving their time and sharing information, this thesis would not have

progressed to its conclusion. My thanks next go to the Vietnamese Government and Victoria

University of Wellington for all the financial support throughout my PhD journey in the forms

of the VUW–VIED Scholarship (Project 911) and the Submission Scholarship. Without this

support, the journey would not have been possible. I also would like to thank the Banking

University of Ho Chi Minh City, where I work in Vietnam, for their documental support during

the time I have been overseas.

My gratitude goes to my family, my close friends, and PhD friends in Wellington and Vietnam.

Spending precious time with them makes my PhD life more balanced and colourful. Also, I

would like to take this chance to especially thank my big brother. He is always there when I

need him. His care and invaluable support throughout my study encouraged me to move

forward and achieve my dreams. Thanks, brother. I hope you feel proud of me.

My biggest thanks go to my husband and my daughter for being with me always through the

ups and downs with their unconditional love. Words are not enough to express my heartfelt

gratitude to you for all the support you have given me on this journey. Thank you, hubby. Cà

Rốt, you are my sunshine, my photographer, and my best buddy. We have been spending a

wonderful and unforgettable time together on this long adventure. Without you, I would

never have reached this stage. Thank you, darling. I love you so much.

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Table of Contents

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ IV

LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................XII

LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................................... XIV

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ XVI

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................1

1.1. Vignette – Why I chose to study accountability in the New Zealand context .................1

1.2. Background of the research .............................................................................................1

1.2.1. Public governance and accountability in public governance......................................1

1.2.2. Refugee resettlement in New Zealand .......................................................................3

1.3. Motivations.......................................................................................................................5

1.4. Research aims and research questions............................................................................7

1.5. Research framework.........................................................................................................7

1.5.1. Relevant theories ........................................................................................................7

1.5.2. Key accountability frameworks and models...............................................................9

1.5.3. Analytical framework ................................................................................................11

1.6. Research methodology...................................................................................................13

1.7. Structure of the thesis....................................................................................................13

CHAPTER 2: PUBLIC GOVERNANCE..........................................................................................15

2.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................15

2.2. Historic shift in public governance from government-managed to subcontracting to

non-government organisations.............................................................................................15

2.2.1. Traditional Public Administration .............................................................................15

2.2.2. New Public Management..........................................................................................16

2.2.3. Moving towards New Public Governance.................................................................21

2.3. Contracting-out...............................................................................................................24

2.4. Non-government organisations......................................................................................26

2.5. Guidance on contracting relationship between government agencies and non￾government organisations.....................................................................................................29

2.6. Networks and network governance ...............................................................................33

2.6.1. Networks...................................................................................................................33

2.6.2. Network governance.................................................................................................35

2.7. Summary.........................................................................................................................38

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CHAPTER 3: ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE ........................................................39

3.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................39

3.2. Definition of accountability ............................................................................................40

3.3. Accountability vs. Responsibility ....................................................................................45

3.4. Accountability vs. Trust ..................................................................................................47

3.5. To whom is accountability owed? ..................................................................................50

3.5.1. Upward accountability ..............................................................................................50

3.5.2. Inward and downward accountability ......................................................................51

3.5.3. Diagonal accountability.............................................................................................53

3.5.4. Horizontal accountability ..........................................................................................54

3.6. For what is accountability demanded? ..........................................................................56

3.6.1. Accountability for outputs ........................................................................................58

3.6.2. Accountability for outcomes.....................................................................................59

3.6.3. Accountability for wellbeing .....................................................................................59

3.7. How is accountability discharged? .................................................................................62

3.7.1. Disclosure statements and reports...........................................................................64

3.7.2. Performance assessment and evaluation .................................................................66

3.7.3. Participation ..............................................................................................................67

3.7.4. Self-regulation...........................................................................................................69

3.7.5. Social auditing ...........................................................................................................69

3.8. Emerging accountability challenges...............................................................................71

3.8.1. The dominance of upward accountability ................................................................72

3.8.2. The problems of “many eyes” and “many hands”....................................................72

3.8.3. The complexity of accountability in practice compared to theory...........................73

3.8.4. The lack of a framework and guidance on accountability in public governance......73

3.9. Gaps for this research.....................................................................................................74

3.10. Summary.......................................................................................................................76

CHAPTER 4: REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT ...................................................................................79

4.1. Introduction....................................................................................................................79

4.2. Refugees globally – key information ..............................................................................79

4.2.1. Definition...................................................................................................................79

4.2.2. Sub-categories of refugees .......................................................................................80

4.2.3. The rationale for refugee resettlement policies.......................................................81

4.2.4. Principles for establishing roles and responsibilities related to refugee resettlement

.............................................................................................................................................81

4.2.5. Models for the reception of resettled refugees .......................................................81

4.3. Refugee resettlement in New Zealand...........................................................................82

4.3.1. Who can come to New Zealand as a refugee?.........................................................82

4.3.2. The scope of this study in terms of refugee classification........................................89

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4.3.3. The New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy programme ...............................90

4.4. Summary.......................................................................................................................104

CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................105

5.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................105

5.2. Applicable theories and justification............................................................................105

5.2.1. Stakeholder theory – a citizenship perspective......................................................106

5.2.2. Stakeholder salience ...............................................................................................108

5.2.3. Salient stakeholder cultures....................................................................................111

5.3. Key accountability frameworks and models in the prior literature and the justification

for using them .....................................................................................................................115

5.3.1. Dubnick and Justice’s (2004) framework for analysing accountability...................115

5.3.2. Provan and Kenis's (2008) network governance ....................................................116

5.3.3. Ebrahim's (2003a) accountability mechanisms ......................................................117

5.3.4. Klijn and Koppenjan's (2014) horizontal accountability mechanisms ....................118

5.4. Analytical framework....................................................................................................121

5.5. Summary.......................................................................................................................129

CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................131

6.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................131

6.2. Philosophical assumptions ...........................................................................................131

6.3. Qualitative research .....................................................................................................133

6.4. A case study approach..................................................................................................135

6.5. Reflection methods ......................................................................................................137

6.6. Triangulation methods .................................................................................................140

6.7. Data collection..............................................................................................................143

6.7.1. Documents ..............................................................................................................143

6.7.2. Semi-structured interview ......................................................................................147

6.8. Data analysis.................................................................................................................151

6.9. Ethical considerations...................................................................................................156

6.10. Summary.....................................................................................................................157

CHAPTER 7: SERVICE PROVISION TO FORMER REFUGEES.....................................................159

7.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................159

7.2. The parties involved in the provision of social services to former refugees................159

7.2.1. Government agencies .............................................................................................160

7.2.2. Non-government organisations..............................................................................167

7.2.3. Volunteers...............................................................................................................173

7.3. The networks and network governance models governing the parties involved in social

service delivery to former refugees ....................................................................................175

7.3.1. The networks involved in social service delivery to former refugees ....................175

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7.3.2. The lead organisation governance model...............................................................178

7.4. Discussion .....................................................................................................................181

7.5. Summary.......................................................................................................................184

CHAPTER 8: PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTABILITY.................................................................185

8.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................185

8.2. Accountability – perspectives of the interview participants........................................185

8.2.1. Accountability from the viewpoints of government agencies................................186

8.2.2. Accountability from the viewpoints of non-government organisations ................187

8.3. Discussion .....................................................................................................................189

8.4. Summary.......................................................................................................................193

CHAPTER 9: STAKEHOLDER PRIORITISATION OF REFUGEE SERVICE PROVIDERS AND VOICES

OF LESS POWERFUL STAKEHOLDERS .....................................................................................195

9.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................195

9.2. To whom are refugee service providers accountable? ................................................195

9.2.1. Who, theoretically, are stakeholders of refugee service providers?......................195

9.2.2. Which stakeholders do refugee service providers think they are accountable to?

...........................................................................................................................................197

9.2.3. Which stakeholders are not mentioned by the refugee service providers? ..........201

9.2.4. Discussion: to whom they are accountable ............................................................204

9.2.5. Who are the refugee service providers’ salient stakeholders? ..............................209

9.2.6. Discussion: salient stakeholders .............................................................................221

9.3. How are less powerful stakeholders (the beneficiaries) given voices? .......................223

9.3.1. In what ways can former refugees receive relevant information and raise their

voices?...............................................................................................................................223

9.3.2. Constraints on former refugees raising their voices...............................................230

9.3.3. Discussion: the voices of former refugees..............................................................239

9.4. Summary.......................................................................................................................241

CHAPTER 10: REFUGEE SERVICE PROVIDER ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS.....................243

10.1. Introduction................................................................................................................243

10.2. Empirical analysis of the accountability mechanisms used by government agencies

and non-government organisations....................................................................................243

10.2.1. Reports and disclosure statements.......................................................................243

10.2.2. Performance evaluation........................................................................................258

10.2.3. Participation ..........................................................................................................263

10.2.4. Self-regulation.......................................................................................................270

10.2.5. Social auditing .......................................................................................................270

10.2.6. Summary of the findings on the use of accountability mechanism by government

agencies and non-government organisations...................................................................271

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10.3. Discussion ...................................................................................................................272

10.3.1. The use of reports and disclosure statements, performance, and participation

mechanisms by government agencies and non-government organisations....................272

10.3.2. Horizonal accountability mechanisms ..................................................................285

10.4. Summary.....................................................................................................................287

CHAPTER 11: CONCLUSION....................................................................................................289

11.1. Introduction................................................................................................................289

11.2. Key findings: overall evaluation..................................................................................290

11.3. Contributions..............................................................................................................297

11.3.1. Contribution to academic knowledge...................................................................297

11.3.2. Contributions to practice ......................................................................................300

11.4. Limitations and future research .................................................................................304

11.5. Concluding remarks....................................................................................................306

REFERENCES* .........................................................................................................................309

APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................................327

Appendix A: Traditional Public Administration, New Public Management, New Public

Governance: Comparing perspectives ................................................................................327

Appendix B: Key points of the four government guidance documents..............................328

Appendix C: Red Cross Fundamental Principles..................................................................331

Appendix D: Success Indicators and Measures – 2017/2018..............................................332

Appendix E: Indicator of success (MBIE – Red Cross Outcome Agreement) ......................333

Appendix F: Interview participant list .................................................................................334

Appendix G: Information sheet for participants .................................................................335

Appendix H: Sample semi-structured interview questions.................................................336

Appendix I: Consent to interview........................................................................................338

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: The funding continuum ........................................................................................................................ 31

Table 3.1: Characteristics of accountability mechanisms regarding “Accountability to whom?”........................ 63

Table 4.1: Quota refugee resettlement by region................................................................................................. 85

Table 4.2: Refugee quota branch arrivals by category, age, and gender............................................................. 86

Table 4.3: Refugee quota branch arrivals by nationality ...................................................................................... 87

Table 4.4: Refugee and protection claims and decisions by financial year........................................................... 88

Table 4.5: Key events of Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand ...................................................................... 95

Table 4.6: The main programmes that the New Zealand Red Cross provides to former refugees....................... 96

Table 4.7: Summary of the other organisations working with refugees in New Zealand..................................... 98

Table 4.8: Goals of settlement and success indicators ....................................................................................... 103

Table 5.1: The salience level of each stakeholder typology ................................................................................ 110

Table 5.2: Comparison of stakeholder salience models...................................................................................... 114

Table 5.3: The matrix between the research questions and the interview questions ........................................ 124

Table 6.1: The documents collected in this study................................................................................................ 145

Table 9.1: The stakeholders in the NGO mission to whom they are accountable .............................................. 200

Table 9.2: The stakeholder salience of a government agency using Mitchell et al. (1997) – with Yes urgency. 212

Table 9.3: The stakeholder salience of a government agency using Mitchell et al. (1997) – with No urgency.. 213

Table 9.4: The stakeholder salience of an NGO using Mitchell et al. (1997) – with Yes urgency ....................... 215

Table 9.5: The stakeholder salience of an NGO using Mitchell et al. (1997) – with No Urgency ....................... 215

Table 9.6: Comparison of stakeholder salience models in the case of government agencies and their

stakeholders – with Yes urgency ........................................................................................................ 218

Table 9.7: Comparison of Stakeholder Salience Models in the case of government agencies and their

stakeholders – with No urgency......................................................................................................... 219

Table 9.8: Comparison of stakeholder salience models in the case of an NGO and their stakeholders – with Yes

urgency............................................................................................................................................... 220

Table 9.9: Comparison of stakeholder salience models in the case of an NGO and their stakeholders – with No

urgency............................................................................................................................................... 220

Table 10.1: The level of participation mechanisms used by MBIE in relation to their main stakeholders......... 279

Table 10.2: The level of participation mechanisms used by the New Zealand Red Cross in relation to their main

stakeholders....................................................................................................................................... 282

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Analytical framework for this study.................................................................................................... 12

Figure 3.1: Stewart’s ladder of accountability ...................................................................................................... 58

Figure 3.2: New Zealand Treasury’s Living Standards Framework ....................................................................... 60

Figure 3.3: The collaborative turn vs. participation levels.................................................................................... 68

Figure 4.1: The components of refugees coming to settle in New Zealand in the financial year 2018-2019....... 89

Figure 4.2: The Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre....................................................................................... 92

Figure 4.3: Five goals of refugee resettlement as represented by Immigration New Zealand........................... 102

Figure 5.1: The stakeholder typology drawn by Mitchell et al. (1997) ............................................................... 110

Figure 5.2: Analytical framework for this study.................................................................................................. 123

Figure 6.1: Interview participants in the five categories..................................................................................... 148

Figure 7.1: Contractual relationships between government agencies and NGOs for the refugee resettlement

service delivery ................................................................................................................................... 162

Figure 7.2: Relationships between parties and each refugee resettlement strategy goal................................. 164

Figure 7.3: The five goals of the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy and the role of the New Zealand

Red Cross and MBIE in this strategy................................................................................................... 169

Figure 7.4: The New Zealand Red Cross and its relationship with other organisations...................................... 171

Figure 7.5: Entities that directly work with the UNHCR quota programme former refugees, especially in their

first year of resettlement in New Zealand.......................................................................................... 172

Figure 9.1: The main parties with whom a government agency may enter an accountability relationship ...... 196

Figure 9.2: The main parties with whom an NGO may enter an accountability relationship ............................ 197

Figure 9.3: Categorised stakeholder relationships of government agencies...................................................... 202

Figure 9.4: Categorised stakeholder relationships of NGOs ............................................................................... 202

Figure 10.1: The outcomes model and three self-evaluation aspects ................................................................ 260

Figure 10.2: Collaborative turn vs. participation levels with the use of participation mechanism of MBIE....... 280

Figure 10.3: Collaborative turn vs. participation levels with the use of participation mechanisms of the New

Zealand Red Cross.............................................................................................................................. 283