Mlr-/lSTRY OF
HEALTH
MANAlU IIALIORA
133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T +64 4 496 2000
2 December 2021
John Jacobson
By email: fyi-request-15419-385121 [email address]
Ref:
H202104400 & H202106233
Tena koe John
Re. 554040: Official Information Act investigation - Extension complaint and
551987: Ombudsman Act investigation - Delay in responding to reconsidered request for
information
I refer to your requests under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) on 13 April 2021
(ref.H20210440) and 10 May 2021 (ref.H202106233) to the Ministry of Health. Following your
complaint to the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman has recommended the Ministry to apologise for
the delays in responding to your requests.
OIA H202106233:
" ..
. all internal communications relating to the processing of my request ... "
On 8 June 2021, the Ministry extended the due date for responding to this request as further
consultation was required. This was for internal consultation within the Ministry to ascertain
which team was responsible for the information requested.
The Ministry acknowledges that the timeframe for making and communicating a decision on
your request should not have been extended. Therefore, the Ministry would like to apologise for
the unwarranted extension relating to your request for communication on vaccine certification.
OIA H202104400:
On 11 June 2021, the Ministry advised you of its decision to reconsider the response provided
to you on 7 May 2021 where all information pertaining to your request of 13 April 2021 was
withheld in full under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act, to maintain the constitutional conventions that
protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers and officials. The Ministry advised that
the reconsidered response would be provided to you by 8 July 2021.
The Ministry was unable to meet this timeframe and released the reconsidered response to you
on 17 September 2021. The final response comprised of various email correspondence, two
internal memos and a PowerPoint presentation. The Ministry would like to apologise for the
delay in providing this information to you.
The Ministry would also like to thank you for your patience and acknowledges that more could
have been done to meet these requests.
