Cabinet Paper for satellite investment
Barry Brill made this Official Information request to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The request was partially successful.
From: Barry Brill
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
The MBIE has announced an investment of $26 million in a satellite to detect methane emissions, in a joint venture with the Environmental Defence Society of the USA. Please provide a copy of any cabinet papers in support of this investment, including the treasury Report.
Yours faithfully,
Barry Brill
From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Kia ora Barry,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 which was received on 14 November 2019, copied below. A response will be provided in accordance with the Act (please see the Office of the Ombudsman Website for more details - http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/).
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) may publish the response to your Official Information Act (OIA) request.
When you are provided with a response to this request, you will be informed about whether the response to your OIA request will be published. If DPMC does publish the response to your OIA request, personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed. This publication process does not apply to extension letters or transfers.
Ngā mihi,
Anna.
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [DPMC request email]
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
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From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Kia ora Barry,
Please see the attached letter regarding your recent OIA request.
Ngā mihi,
Anna.
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [1][DPMC request email]
[2]cid:image002.png@01D43609.296F69C0
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
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From: Ministerial Services
Ref: 1920-0808
Dear Barry Brill,
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 14 November 2019 requesting under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:
“The MBIE has announced an investment of $26 million in a satellite to
detect methane emissions, in a joint venture with the Environmental
Defence Society of the USA. Please provide a copy of any cabinet papers in
support of this investment, including the treasury Report.”
Your request has been transferred to the Ministry from the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet on 19 November 2019 and is being processed
in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. A response will be
sent to you in due course. If you have any enquiries regarding your
request feel free to contact us via email [1][email address] or using
the contact details below.
Yours sincerely,
MINISTERIAL SERVICES
Corporate, Governance and Information
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Level 4, 15 Stout Street, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140
[2]mbie-logo
[3]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services
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3. http://www.govt.nz/
From: Emma Davey [TSY]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora Barry
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 which
was transferred to Treasury from DPMC on 19 November 2019. A response will
be provided in accordance with the Act (please see the Office of the
Ombudsman Website for more details -
[1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/).
Regards
Emma Davey | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury
Tel: +64 4 917 6897 | Email/IM: [email address]
Visit us online at [2]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[3]Twitter, [4]LinkedIn and [5]Instagram
Please note I do not work Wednesdays
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From: Ruohan Zhao [TSY]
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Good morning Barry,
We hope this email finds you well.
I am contacting you regarding your OIA request for MBIE’s Cabinet paper in
support of the $26 investment in a satellite to detect methane emissions,
including the Treasury Report. We have been transferred the portion of
your OIA request relating to the Treasury Report by DPMC.
We would like to clarify with you what you were after in regards to the
Treasury Report: there was not a separate Treasury Report on the satellite
investment, but we do have a very short briefing as part of a wider
Cabinet briefing. Would this be within scope of what you are after?
We would be grateful if you could please let us know. Please feel free to
contact me by email or phone (my details are below) if you have any
questions or would like any further information.
Kind regards,
Ruohan
Ruohan Zhao (she/her) | Transitions, Regions and Economic Development| Te
Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury
DDI: +64 4 917 6087 Extn: 8087 | [1][email address]
[2]cid:image001.png@01D4D5DF.3583F250
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From: Barry Brill
Dear Ruohan,
Thanks for your email. Yes, the relevant section of the Treasury's briefing paper for Cabinet does fall within the scope of what I am seeking.
If the Treasury has any relevantadditional information regarding investment returns (IRR, NPV, payback, etc) I would be grateful if you could add that.
Yours sincerely,
Barry Brill
From: Ruohan Zhao [TSY]
Kia ora Barry,
Thank you for confirming. I will let our Ministerial Advisor know and we will update this on our system.
Regarding information on investment returns, could I please clarify whether you mean investment returns specifically in relation to the satellite system?
Kind regards,
Ruohan
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From: Barry Brill
Hi Ruohan
Yes.
In my experience, any proposal for a multi-million-dollar investment by the Government would require a Treasury report. Can you explain why that was not required for the methane-sniffing satellite investment?
As no report was prepared by Treasury, I assume the figures (ie the business case for the investment) were provided to Treasury by MBIE or some other source.
I would like a copy of whatever figures of this nature are held on Treasury's file.
Barry
From: Ruohan Zhao [TSY]
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Kia ora Barry,
Thank you for your clarification.
Regarding the first question, there is not a requirement that all investments be accompanied by a Treasury Report.
Regarding the second question, we have checked internally and we do not hold any further information about the methaneSAT investment. We would recommend asking MBIE for this information, as the policy lead for this initiative.
As requested, we will include the material from the Cabinet paper briefing for your OIA request.
Many thanks,
Ruohan
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From: Emma Davey [TSY]
Kia ora Barry
Thank you for your email of 25 November. We can now proceed with your OIA request as defined in your email. In accordance with section 15(1AA) of the Official Information Act, your request is deemed to have been received by the Treasury on 25 November 2019 i.e the date the scope of your request was confirmed.
Regards,
Emma Davey | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury
Tel: +64 4 917 6897 | Email/IM: [email address]
Visit us online at https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram
Please note I do not work Wednesdays
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From: Katharina Redpath
Good afternoon,
Please see attached , the combined response , uploaded for 0789 yesterday.
Ngā mihi
[1]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description:
cid:image001.jpg@01CD1D45.D6A244C0
Katharina Redpath
Ministerial Co-ordinator |Science Policy | Labour, Science and
Enterprise
MINISTRY OF BUSINESS INNOVATION & EMPLOYMENT | HIKINA WHAKATUTUKI
15 Stout St, Wellington, New Zealand
[2]www.mbie.govt.nz | [3][email address] |
[4]http://mbieintranet/assets/MBIE-visual-i...
[5]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
services
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References
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2. http://www.mbie.govt.nz/
3. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.govt.nz/
From: Emma Davey [TSY]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora Barry
Please find attached a response to your OIA request.
Regards
Emma Davey | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury
Tel: +64 4 917 6897 | Email/IM: [email address]
Visit us online at [1]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[2]Twitter, [3]LinkedIn and [4]Instagram
Please note I do not work Wednesdays
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From: Emma Davey [TSY]
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora Barry
Please find attached a response to your OIA request.
Regards
Emma Davey | Ministerial Advisor | Te Tai Ôhanga – The Treasury
Tel: +64 4 917 6897 | Email/IM: [email address]
Visit us online at [1]https://treasury.govt.nz/ and follow us on
[2]Twitter, [3]LinkedIn and [4]Instagram
Please note I do not work Wednesdays
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