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Ngā rauemi me ngā tānga

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540 Resources Show all

  • Request for handwritten comments on draft walking and cycling strategy

    Case notes
    Release would inhibit willingness of Council staff to provide free and frank opinions on drafts circulated by colleagues, or to test the content and recommendations of such documents, which would undermine the accuracy and value of the material that eventuates—s 7(2)(f)(i) applies

  • Request for external monitor’s report on University graduate diploma

    Case notes
    University research contracts and trading can be commercial activities—the provision of education to full fee-paying international students may be a commercial activity—but providing tertiary education to domestic students is not a commercial activity—s 9(2)(i) does not apply

  • Request for rent paid for transmission and broadcast sites

    Case notes
    Requester could use knowledge of other site rental rates to try and obtain a higher rate in their rent review—s 9(2)(j) applies

  • Request for correspondence regarding dog control officer’s actions

    Case notes
    Request related to dispute some 16 years prior that had already been the subject of court proceedings and inquiries by this Office—request was an attempt to re-litigate already long concluded matters and an abuse of the right to access official information—vexatious complaint—Ombudsman refuses to investigate

  • Request for Policy Advisory Group briefings to Prime Minister about infant formula threat

    Case notes
    Section 9(2)(f)(iv) applies to PAG briefings to Prime Minister subject to public interest test— relationship between PAG and the Prime Minister, in his or her constitutional role as leader of the Government, is unique—complete confidentiality in interactions with his or her closest advisers is required to support the Prime Minister in carrying out that role

  • Request for information about proposed Clifford Bay ferry terminal

    Case notes
    Interislander’s operating costs, growth predictions and business strategy protected by s 9(2)(b)(ii)

  • Request for evidentiary conclusions in respect of 15 issues or assertions and information about religious affiliation or association of staff

    Case notes
    Information not held—evidentiary conclusions would need to be created—to the extent that if information about religious affiliation or association of staff was held in mind of Commissioner, it would be held in a personal capacity

  • Request for information about appointment of public service chief executive

    Case notes
    Section 9(2)(a) applied to names of unsuccessful candidates—no public interest override—section 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(ba)(ii) did not apply to the names of external panellists—section 9(2)(a) did not apply to officials’ names, Cabinet distribution and attend

  • Request for advice to Ministers on applications under the Overseas Investment Act

    Case notes
    The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) complained to the Ombudsman about the Overseas Investment Office’s (OIO’s) decision to refuse its request for information deleted from the file relating to Kim Dotcom’s applications for consent to

  • Request for information about exploration permits awarded to Anadarko Petroleum

    Case notes
    Application and evaluation subject to obligation of confidence—release would make bidders reluctant to share full information in future, which would undermine MBIE’s ability to carry out statutory functions—release would also reduce the appeal of investing in New Zealand and MBIE’s ability to administer the Crown Minerals Act, which would otherwise damage the public interest—sections 9(2)(ba)(i) and (ii) apply—revealing information about particular prospects or reserves would disadvantage third party vis-à-vis their competitors—revealing information about projected costs would disadvantage third party in its negotiations with service companies—section 9(2)(b)(ii) applies—public interest met by available information

  • Request for reports into prisoner deaths in custody

    Case notes
    Request for reports into deaths of two prisoners in custody—s 9(2)(a) applied to parts of reports—strong public interest in release—disclosure to the Howard League subject to conditions

  • Charge for the creation of statistics

    Case notes
    OIA and Charging Guidelines did not apply to request for statistics that were not held but could be created for a fee—fee for the creation of statistics was calculated in accordance with the agency’s Sales and Pricing Policy and was not unreasonable

  • Request for information regarding rental housing warrants of fitness

    Case notes
    Section 9(2)(f)(iv) provides good reason to withhold some documents—Cabinet decision making incomplete—publicity from release would impede the Cabinet and Minister from making balanced, efficient and effective decision—Minister had addressed public interest in participation and accountability through disclosure of bulk of information at issue

  • Local Authority not unreasonable to hold that right of way issue is a civil matter

    Case notes
    Whether the Council was unreasonable to suggest that a right of way dispute between neighbours was a civil matter—Ombudsman found Council’s advice to have been reasonable

  • Request for research behind a published statement

    Case notes
    Requester must be told where they can access the publicly available information

  • Request for holiday period excess speed infringement data

    Case notes
    Release 23 working days after refusal was ‘soon’—s 18(d)

  • Request for Pre-Cabinet précis briefings

    Case notes
    Disclosure of short and incisive pre-Cabinet briefings and risk assessments would inhibit future expression of free and frank opinions

  • Request for draft investigation report into GRSA outbreak at Wellington Hospital’s neonatal unit

    Case notes
    Request for investigation report regarding outbreak of GRSA at Wellington Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit—report withheld as not ‘signed-off’—TOR specified confidential two-stage investigation process—disclosure risked compromising this process and would diminish staff confidence that investigations would follow agreed protocols—disclosure would be likely to damage the public interest—final investigation report still not complete nearly one year later—the longer a review process goes on without disclosure of final investigation report the greater the public interest in disclosure of at least an interim statement—in this case s 9(2)(ba)(ii) provided good reason to withhold the draft report.

  • Request for restorative justice data

    Case notes
    No certainty that information would be released in the near future—release 14-16 weeks after refusal was not ‘soon’—s 18(g) did not apply

  • Request for information redacted from Ministerial briefings and Cabinet papers on telecommunications and ultra-fast broadband

    Case notes
    While some decisions had been made, others were still required, and disclosure would prejudice the orderly and effective conduct of ongoing advisory and decision making processes

  • Request for advice to Local Government Commission

    Case notes
    No ministerial or executive government decision making process would be undermined by release—draft and final versions of the advice were substantially similar and the advice was in the nature of a careful and considered critique—no good reason to withhold

  • Request for draft ‘Alternatives Paper’ prepared by consultants on CBD rail link

    Case notes
    Release would inhibit exchange of drafts and views between staff and consultants, which would undermine the drafting process—s 7(2)(f)(i) applied—public interest met by the release of the final report and the peer reviews by relevant agencies

  • Request for literature review on youth desistance

    Case notes
    Draft review provided to successful tenderer as starting point for an external research project— information not in the nature of free and frank opinions—disclosure would not undermine interest in s 9(2)(g)(i)—release accompanied by contextual statement

  • Request for information about tangata whenua rights

    Case notes
    Requester seeking official statement from Minister—information not held—explanation would need to be created

  • Request for transcripts of post-Cabinet press conferences

    Case notes
    Prime Minister’s office wanted to compare draft transcript with audio recording to check for errors—‘substantial collation or research’ does not encompass a quality assurance check of that nature—10 hours work did not amount to ‘substantial collation or research’

  • Request for minutes of Council workshops

    Case notes
    Request for minutes of Unitary Plan Political Working Party—minutes related to Council ‘workshops’—s 7(2)(f)(i) applied in part—minutes could be disclosed in part without inhibiting people from contributing to workshops in future

  • Request for draft report on NZX compliance with general obligations

    Case notes
    Release would inhibit the free and frank expression of opinions by officials during the drafting process, and the exchange of opinions between the NZX and FMA—it is in the interests of the ‘effective conduct of public affairs’ for the review process to be robust and conducted in a manner that supported the FMA’s main objective of promoting and facilitating the development of fair, efficient and transparent markets—s 9(2)(g)(i) applied

  • Request for information about an employment investigation (demotion)

    Case notes
    Privacy and confidentiality grounds apply—need for accountability when things go wrong— nature and seriousness of the wrongdoing—seniority of the individual involved—release of summary information to satisfy public interest

  • Request for project and hazard management plans relating to Mount Victoria tunnel refurbishment

    Case notes
    Section 9(2)(b)(ii) applies to genuinely innovative methods that competitors could copy or adapt in future tenders, but not to the plans in their entirety—strong public interest in disclosure to promote accountability for adherence to the plans and effective participation in the consultation process

  • Request for cost of building naming rights

    Case notes
    Release of total cost would not unreasonably prejudice third party’s commercial position—public interest in accountability for spending public money

  • Request for engineering reports regarding earthquake-prone buildings

    Case notes
    Section 7(2)(c)(i) applied—public interest in transparency for health and safety required the disclosure of four reports containing adverse findings

  • Names of senior and principal historian involved in writing treaty settlement memo

    Case notes
    Sections 9(2)(a) and 9(2)(g)(ii) OIA did not apply—information publicly available—seniority—degree of responsibility—no material supporting likelihood of pressure or harassment