15 May 2020
John Luke
[FYI request #12641 email]
Dear Mr Luke
Thank you for your email of 17 April 2020 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), the following information:
I have made an OIA request in the past (DOIA 1819-1640), here is the link to my old OIA request,
https://fyi.org.nz/request/10311-welcoming-communities-advisory-board-members During the
reply, you have wrote the advisory board will be disestablished. However from your website, I
found the advisory board still existed and have new member appointed.
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/what-we-do/welcoming-communities/who-is-
involved May I ask when this is happened and how you have selected the current member and if
there are any meeting minutes since it has been established again. Any discussion
documents/emails/memos related to re-established the board? Also, how long are their
appointment for and given this is a topic concerning lots of people, how you have calling express
of interest to the public this time?
The Welcoming Communities Advisory Board (the Advisory Board) was established in 2017 to assist with
the development of the Welcoming Communities – Te Wahaora ki ngā Hapori pilot programme from
2017 to 2019.
As stated in the Ministry’s response to your previous official information request (Ref: DOIA 1819-1640)
on this subject, the Advisory Board provided subject-matter expertise during the pilot phase of the
Welcoming Communities programme. The Advisory Board was disestablished in 2019 and there have
been no new appointees. Unfortunately, updated information on the Advisory Board was not added to
Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) website to reflect that change. This has been rectified and updated
information is on the INZ website no
w. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/what-we-
do/welcoming-communities/who-is-involved.
As the Advisory Board has not been re-established, I am refusing your request for discussion
documents, emails and memos under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the requested documents do not
exist. I am refusing your request for information on the length of appointment to the Advisory Board
and expressions of interest on the same grounds.
I am also refusing your request for
“…any meeting minutes since it has been established again” under
section 18(e) of the OIA as the Advisory Board has not been
established again
and the requested
documents do not exist.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
Yours sincerely
Fiona Whiteridge
General Manager, Refugee and Migrant Services
Immigration New Zealand
