21 October 2021
John Luke
[email address]
Dear John Luke
Thank you for your email of 21 August 2021 in which you requested the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA):
You have mentioned you have recently appointed a Trade for All Ministerial Advisory Group. Can you
please let me know how you call for public expression of interest, e.g. where did you advertised the
role and what is the pay rate of this group. Please also provide the term of reference and selection
criteria of these members.
How many times they meet each year and beside the daily pay rate, what else they will be reimbursed,
e.g. travel? meal?
You were advised on 16 September 2021 that, due to the need for further consultation and review, the
timeframe for making a decision on your request needed to be extended by 25 working days to 22 October
2021. Thank you for your patience while this process was completed.
No public expression of interest was carried out for this process as members of the Trade for All Ministerial
Advisory Group (TfAMAG) are appointed at my discretion. As such, no advertising took place.
The TfAMAG will meet at least twice per year. In accordance with the Cabinet Fees Framework (see
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/our-work/fees/), members will be paid NZ$400 per day their services are
required, and will also be reimbursed for expenses relating to meeting attendance.
Information related to the TfAMAG, including the group’s terms of reference, is currently being prepared for
release on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website
(https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/media-and-
resources/). As such, this part of your request is refused under section 18(d) of the OIA as the information
will shortly be publicly available. I expect the information to be available by the end of October.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Hon Damien O’Connor
Minister for Trade and Export Growth
