Advice on reviewing or amending the OIA
Andrew Ecclestone made this Official Information request to Andrew Little
The request was refused by Andrew Little.
      From: Andrew Ecclestone
      
    
    Dear Minister,
There is a report in Stuff today that quotes you as saying are "committed to a rewrite of the Official Information Act, and this work will take place in association with my colleague Chris Hipkins, Minister of State Services [Open Government].”
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/1220453...
This is a welcome announcement - I am glad the government is committed to a rewrite of the law.
In view of the fact that you have made a decision on this subject, and that the Government's commitment in its Open Government Action Plan is to publish the advice to you on this subject, please can you provide me with all the advice provided to you on reform of the OIA from April 2019 to date. The Ministry of Justice refused my request in January 2020 for this advice (https://fyi.org.nz/request/11988-advice-...), on the basis that you were still considering it, but if you have now made your decision, I believe the advice should now be published.
Under section 12(3) of the OIA, I ask that my request be treated as urgent. My reason for seeking the information urgently is so that the public are better informed on this topic before voting in the general election in September.
Under section 16 of the OIA, my preference is to receive the information via a reply to the email address from which this request is sent. This means it will be published on the fyi.org.nz website for others to read too.
If for some reason you decide to withhold any or all of the information I am requesting, then under section 19(a)(ii) of the OIA, please also provide your grounds in support of any reason for withholding, and what public interest factors you considered when reaching your decision.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Ecclestone
        From: A Little Office (MIN)
        Andrew Little
      
    
    Tçnâ koe
 
 
Thank you for contacting the office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of
 Justice, Minister for Courts, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi
 Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister Responsible for
 the GCSB and Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry.
 
Minister Little receives a significant volume of correspondence:
 
o If your message is for Minister Little’s advice, or if you have copied
 your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with more
 appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted,
 o If you have invited Minister Little to an event then a member of staff
 may contact you for more information if the Minister’s attendance
 might be possible,
 o If you have made a request for official information then this will be
 manged in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information
 Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or
 agency,
 o If you have made a request under the Privacy Act then this will be
 managed in accordance with the principles of the Privacy Act 1993,
 which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency,
 o If you are a journalist then your request will be triaged by a press
 secretary,
 o To find out more about Minister Little read his [1]biography or recent
 [2]statements.
 
Ngâ mihi
 
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP
 Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email
 [3][Andrew Little request email] | Web [4]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost
 Parliament, Private Bag 18 041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New
 Zealand
[5]https://xink.io/wp-content/themes/Xink/a...
Authorised by Hon Andrew Little MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
 New Zealand
 
 
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References
Visible links
 1. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/bio...
 2. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
 3. mailto:[Andrew Little request email]
 4. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
 5. https://www.facebook.com/AndrewLittleLab...
 6. https://twitter.com/AndrewLittleMP
 7. https://www.instagram.com/andrewlittlemp
 8. https://nz.linkedin.com/in/andrewlittlemp
 9. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
        From: A Little Office (MIN)
        Andrew Little
      
    
    Tçnâ koe
 
Thank you for contacting the office of Andrew Little MP, Minister of
 Justice, Minister for Courts, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi
 Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister Responsible for
 the GCSB, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry and Labour List
 Member of Parliament with an office in New Plymouth.
 
Due to the high volume of enquiries we are receiving, we must prioritise
 responding to messages about COVID-19. Below is useful information that
 might answer your query.
 
We appreciate your patience as we unite against COVID-19. These are
 extraordinary circumstances, but we will get through this together. Please
 be kind to yourselves and each other.
 
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | For all of the latest information on COVID-19: |
 | |
 | Please visit [1]www.covid19.govt.nz or phone 0800 779 997 |
 +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 |If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, which include a fever (at least|
 | 38°C), a cough, or shortness of breath: |
 | |
 | DO NOT visit a GP or a hospital |
 | |
 | Self-isolate at home and phone your GP or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 |
 +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 
For the current COVID-19 alert level and information about the
 restrictions that apply to you and your family:
 Please visit
 [2]https://covid19.govt.nz/government-actio...
 
For COVID-19 financial assistance:
Please visit [3]www.workandincome.govt.nz or phone 0800 40 80 40
 
For COVID-19 business and tax information:
 Please visit [4]www.ird.govt.nz/covid19
 
For immigration and visa advice:
Please visit [5]www.immigration.govt.nz
 
For travel advice:
Please visit [6]www.safetravel.govt.nz
 
If you a victim of family violence, or in a relationship that makes you
 fearful about your own or anyone else’s safety
If you need emergency assistance from the Police phone 111
 For further information and support visit
 [7]www.police.govt.nz/advice/family-violence/help
 
If you are feeling anxious or just need to talk to someone:
 Please phone or text 1737
If you need to report concerns about breaches of self-isolation or the
 restrictions that apply at today’s COVID-19 Alert Level:
 Please email [email address]
 (Priority will be given to messages from confirmed cases and the contacts
 of confirmed cases and will also enable notifications of reported breaches
 of self-isolation and mass gathering requirements. We ask people to use
 this channel judicially.)
 For COVID-19 information in languages other than English:
 Please visit
 [8]www.covid19.govt.nz/resources-and-translation/translations/
(Information is available in Chinese, Cook Islands Mâori, Fijian, Gagana
 Samoan, Hindi, Lea Tongan, New Zealand Sign Language, Niuean, Te Reo
 Mâori, Tokelauan, Tuvaluan)
For the latest statements from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other
 Ministers:
 Please visit [9]www.beehive.govt.nz
 
For the latest statements from Director-General of Health Dr Ashley
 Bloomfield:
 Please visit
 [10]www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus
 
If you are still not sure who to contact:
 Phone 0800 779 997 (8am–1am, 7 days a week) or email
 [email address]
 For issues that do not relate to COVID-19:
o If your message is for Andrew Little’s advice, or if you have copied
 your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with more
 appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted
 o If you have invited Minister Little to an event then you should cancel
 that event immediately
 o If you have made a request for official information then this will be
 managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information
 Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or
 agency
 o If you have made a request under the Privacy Act then this will be
 managed in accordance with the principles of the Privacy Act 1993,
 which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency
 o If you are a journalist then your request will be triaged by a press
 secretary
 o To find out more about Andrew Little read his [11]biography or recent
 Ministerial [12]statements.
 
Ngâ mihi
 
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP
 Parliamentary Reception phone +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial email
 [Andrew Little request email] | Web [13]beehive.govt.nz
 Electorate office based in New Plymouth (currently closed to prevent the
 spread of COVID-19) phone +64 6 757 5662 | Parliamentary email
 [email address]
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
 portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or
 constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list:
 date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
 meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
 Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
 be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
 with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
 released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
 private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
 provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
 considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
 copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
 be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
 your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
 release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
 sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
 [14]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
Authorised by Hon Andrew Little MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
 New Zealand
 
show quoted sections
        From: Matt Swann
      
    
    Dear Mr Ecclestone,
 
Please see the attached response to your OIA request.
Kind regards,
 
Matt Swann
 Ministerial Advisor to Hon Andrew Little MP
DDI +64 4 817 9766 | Email [1][email address]
 
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of Justice, Minister for Courts,
 Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the
 NZSIS, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for Pike
 River Re-entry, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety
 Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email
 [2][Andrew Little request email] | Web [3]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost
 Parliament, Private Bag 18 041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New
 Zealand
[4]https://xink.io/wp-content/themes/Xink/a...
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
 portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or
 constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list:
 date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
 meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
 Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
 be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
 with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
 released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
 private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
 provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
 considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
 copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
 be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
 your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
 release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
 sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
 [9]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
Authorised by Hon Andrew Little MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
 New Zealand
 
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References
Visible links
 1. mailto:[email address]
 2. mailto:[Andrew Little request email]
 3. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
 4. https://www.facebook.com/AndrewLittleLab...
 5. https://twitter.com/AndrewLittleMP
 6. https://www.instagram.com/andrewlittlemp
 7. https://nz.linkedin.com/in/andrewlittlemp
 8. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
 9. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
 - Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
 

