Communications with Mr Andy Wigmore and/or Mr Arron Banks
George Morrison made this Official Information request to Winston Peters
The request was successful.
From: George Morrison
Dear Winston Peters,
Please provide me with all communications held by your office to and from Mr Andy Wigmore and/or Mr Arron Banks and/or their associates. Please also provide me with any communications to and from Darroch Ball MP and/or his office since 1 January 2020.
Yours faithfully,
George Morrison
From: W Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
On behalf of Rt Hon Winston Peters, thank you for your email.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the office is currently receiving a
high volume of correspondence. In light of the current situation, please
see the information below that might be of assistance in addressing your
enquiry.
If you are a New Zealander offshore in need of assistance, please contact
the New Zealand Embassy or High Commission closest to you. A list can be
found here: [1]https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/embassies/
If you need urgent consular assistance, please call the [2]consular
emergency line on +64 99 20 20 20 (outside New Zealand) or 0800 30 10 30
(within New Zealand).
In relation to COVID-19, please note the following (correct as of
Wednesday 10 June):
* New Zealand is at COVID-19 Alert Level 1. For more information on what
this means, visit the New Zealand Government’s dedicated COVID-19
website [3]www.covid19.govt.nz.
* It is advised that New Zealanders do not travel overseas, and consider
returning home while the limited commercial options remain available.
We recognise that not everyone who wants to return home will be able
to do so. Taking your personal circumstances into account, it may make
sense to stay where you are and follow the instructions of local
authorities, especially if you are a long-term resident overseas. The
situation is extremely complex, is changing quickly, and some things
are beyond the Government’s control; in most cases Government-assisted
departure flights should not be relied upon to get home.
* New Zealanders living and travelling overseas are strongly encouraged
to register on [4]SafeTravel for official advice and to update their
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This allows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to contact you
during an emergency situation, send important information, and provide
consular assistance while you are overseas.
* New Zealanders wishing to transit Australia on their way home to
New Zealand are subject to both Australian Federal and State
Government requirements and are advised to consult the [5]Department
of Home Affairs’ COVID19 website and the [6]Australian Home Affairs
website, which have the most up-to-date and accurate transit
information. Travel agents/airlines and insurance providers can also
be consulted.
* If you are a New Zealander living in Australia seeking assistance, you
may be eligible for Australia’s JobKeeper wage subsidy payment or
early access to your Australian superannuation savings. Some New
Zealanders may be entitled to up to six months of Centrelink
assistance if they arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001, but
have lived in Australia for more than ten years. Please contact
Centrelink International Services on 131 673 for more information
about this and other Centrelink assistance you may be eligible for.
Details about the JobKeeper payment and early access to superannuation
funds are available on the Australian Tax Office website:
[7]www.ato.gov.au. The Australian Government website at
[8]www.servicesaustralia.gov.au will also be kept up to date with
emergency support packages.
* For Ministry of Social Development clients who are stranded overseas
because of COVID-19, their benefit, New Zealand Superannuation or
Veteran’s Pension may continue to be paid or may be resumed where
payments are on hold or have stopped, from the date that they expected
to return to New Zealand (or earlier if that person is in severe
hardship, or not at all if that person no longer qualifies). New
Zealanders who believe they may be eligible for support can find more
information on [9]Work and Income’s website.
* If you are a visitor to New Zealand contacting this office regarding
repatriation flights, please contact your government’s diplomatic
representation here in New Zealand for further information about
getting home, or for consular assistance. Contact details are
available at
[10]https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/embassies/#f....
While the Deputy Prime Minister considers all correspondence to be
important and all messages are carefully read and considered, it is not
possible to provide a personal response to every email which is received.
Where the Deputy Prime Minister has portfolio responsibility for the
issues that you have raised, your correspondence will be considered and
responded to where appropriate.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
(Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated
email.)
Regards
Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
show quoted sections
From: W Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
Dear George,
We acknowledge receipt of your official information request dated 7 July 2020 for,
All communications held by your office to and from Mr Andy Wigmore and/or Mr Arron Banks and/or their associates. Please also provide me with any communications to and from Darroch Ball MP and/or his office since 1 January 2020.
We received your request on 7 July 2020. We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than being 20 working days after the day your request was received.
If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If your OIA request requires full or part transfer, we will contact you within the required timeframe.
Yours Sincerely
Office Rt Hon Winston Peters
show quoted sections
From: W Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
Dear Mr Morrison
This email is to inform you of the need to extend the timeframe to respond
to your request for a further 10 working days, to 18 August 2020. This
extension is made under section 15A(1)(b) as the consultations necessary
to make a decision on the request are such that a proper response to the
request cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.
You have the right under section 28(3) of the Act to seek a review of this
decision by the Ombudsman.
Yours sincerely
Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
Deputy Prime Minister | Leader of New Zealand First | Minister of Foreign
Affairs | Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control | Minister for State
Owned Enterprises | Minister for Racing
L7.4 Executive Wing | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand
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From: Thomas Raethel
Dear George Morrison
Please find attached a response to your Official Information Act request,
received 7 July 2020.
Yours sincerely
Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
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- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
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Alex Harris left an annotation ()
Note that the OIA only covers information held in an official capacity. From the media reports, its clear that the communications which sparked this request are likely to be held as an MP / party leader, not a Minister, so you'll probably get a s18(e) refusal.
Link to this