Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wellington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
E [email address] |
W www.justice.govt.nz
23 August 2021
Jan Magee
[FYI request #16179 email].
Dear Jan
Thank you for your email of 24 July 2021, requesting information relating to Ms Gemma
McConkey. You requested the following information under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).
“How many legal disputes has Ms McConkey been involved in
How much money has Ms McConkey received in legal aid”
In response to your request regarding
“the number of disputes Ms McConkey has been
involved in”, I can confirm that this is court information and is not subject to the Official
Information Act 1982, pursuant to Section 2(6)(a).
As per District Court Rules 2017, access to court information is governed by specific search
rules and the inherent authority of the courts is to regulate access to the information under
its supervision. As such, in order to request access to court information that you are not a
party to, you will need to file an application with the courthouse where the matter was heard.
This will then be referred to a judge or deputy registrar for a decision. Any decision relating
to the release of court information is a judicial decision, and therefore, the Ministry cannot
intervene or comment on this process. The application process and associated fees can be
found on the Ministry’s website at: justice.govt.nz/about/news-and-media/media-
centre/media-information/fees-for-access-to-court-documents
Court contact details can be found on the Ministry’s website at: justice.govt.nz/contact-
us/find-us/
Your second request regarding the amount of money Ms McConkey received has been
referred to me for a response as it falls within my responsibilities as Manager, Legal Aid
Services and is being managed under the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act).
This part of your request is being refused under section 9(2)(a) of the Act. Withholding this
information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons. I do not consider that the
reasons for withholding the information are outweighed by any considerations that render it
desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.
Legal aid operates on a system of fixed fees and maximum grants for services provided by
legal aid lawyers. Fixed amounts are paid to lawyers for completing specific activities. More
information about fixed fees can be found on our website: justice.govt.nz/about/lawyers-and-
service-providers/legal-aid-lawyers/proceeding-steps-and-fixed-fee-schedules/. Legal aid is
paid to the lawyer, not the legally aided person.
If you require any clarification of the information contained in this response please contact
Alison Horwood, Media Manager at [email address] or call (04) 918 8836.
Please note that if you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to ask the
Ombudsman to investigate and review our decision under section 28(3) of the Act.
Contact details for the Office of the Ombudsman are:
Office of the Ombudsman
PO Box 10152
Wellington
Email: [email address]
Yours sincerely
Robert Ives
Manager, Legal Aid Services
