A number of government ministries have come under attack during the Cook Islands Finance Minister's budget speech.
He said that some ministries had presented poor business plans and budget submissions with little proposed policy initiatives and in many cases figures that did not add up.
Sir Geoffrey Henry said his budget committee had described the performance of the ombudsman office was a disgrace.
The office's budget was slashed by 50 percent to around 60,000 US dollars.
Cook Islands News says other ministries to have their budgets cut include agriculture and the outer islands.
Those that saw an increase in funding include education and tourism.
