Police failed to advise a requester of its decision on an Official Information Act (OIA) request as early as it could have because of its practice of advising the Police Minister three working days in advance of decisions on certain requests.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has formed an opinion that the public interest did not outweigh reasons to withhold information requested under the Official Information Act from the Ministry of Health about the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
The Chief Ombudsman has published a case note on an investigation following a complaint by a requester about a number of refusals by Inland Revenue to provide information.
How do we strike the right balance between enabling confidential consideration of free and frank advice, and enabling the public to access official information to support open government? Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier discusses in a new Victoria University Policy Quarterly article.