2 March 2021
Our Reference: IR-01-20-38485
Alan Thompson
[FYI request #14327 email]
Dear Alan
I am writing in response to the email you submitted 18 December 2020. Your request has
been considered pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). Specifically, your
request stated:
With respect to NZ Police's response to the Whakaari/White Island
disaster I seek the following information under the provisions of the Official
Information Act.
1. Where NZ Police at any time after the eruption of Whakaari on 9th
December 2019 managing, controlling, directing or otherwise responsible
for coordinating the response to the disaster including the search for,
rescue and/or recovery of victims of the incident?
2. If NZ Police were at some point initially responsible for coordination of
the response was the handover to NEMA or to the Bay of Plenty CD&EM
Group and what was the date/time of that handover?
3. Who then were the other agencies that NZ Police were coordinating and
was this undertaken in accordance with the NZ Coordinated Incident
Management System as required by the National Plan?
As stated in our previous responses to you dated 21 February 2020 (reference 01-20-
2005) and 13 May 2020 (reference 01-20-8787), at no point were Police the lead agency
responding to the 9 December 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption.
As such, the information you have requested is refused pursuant to section 18(e) of the
Act which states:
‘A request…may be refused for one or more of the following reasons,
namely: the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist’
I trust you are satisfied with my response to your request. If not, you have a right under
section 28(3) of the Act to ask the Office of the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and
review of my decision.
Yours sincerely
Inspector Nic Brown
Acting Director: Capability, Leadership and Capability
Police National Headquarters 180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
