Reference: 20200166
2 June 2020
Gerry Hetet
[FYI request #12796 email]
Dear Gerry
Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act, received on 6 May
2020. You requested:
...any communications, reports, documents and papers, that were provided to the
Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Jacinda Ardern, immediately prior to or after NZ entering
Covid-19 Alert Level 3, specifically those that the Prime Minister referred to on 4
May 2020 stating the New Zealand economy was operating at 75 percent
according to the Treasury.
Several proactive releases of information are planned for advice provided to the
Government on the economic impact of COVID-19. This information may include some
of the material in scope of your request. The first information release was published on
the Department of Cabinet and Prime Minister website on Friday 8 May:
covid19.govt.nz/resources/key-documents-and-legislation/proactive-release/ Several further releases are planned over the coming weeks. Once the information is
proactively released, please let us know if it has fully or partially covered off your
request.
If any of the specific information you requested is not covered by the proactive release,
under section 15A of the Official Information Act I am extending the time limit for
deciding on your request by an additional 40 working days. If the extension is required,
the new due date for responding to your request is 30 July 2020.
As you will understand, the Treasury, along with a number of government agencies, is
currently directing resources towards its response to COVID-19.
This will mean the consultations required to make a decision on your request are likely
to take longer than usual. This is the reason for the length of the extension, should it be
required for information not covered by the proactive release, advised in this letter.
Should you have any questions about this or any other aspect of your request please
contact me at
[email address].
1 The Terrace
PO Box 3724
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
tel. +64-4-472-2733
https://treasury.govt.nz
This extension will also apply to the time limit for transferring your request, should this
become relevant.
Notwithstanding this extension, I undertake to make a decision on your request as
soon as reasonably practicable.
Finally, I want to acknowledge this is a different approach compared with the usual
approach to responding to an official information request that may be partly or fully
covered by a proactive release. If after the proactive releases a lot of the
documentation you requested is not covered, please let us know what is a priority for
you and we will endeavour to get this priority information to you well within the new
deadline.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review this decision.
Yours sincerely
David Hammond
Team Leader Ministerial Advisory
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