Archives New Zealand, 10 Mulgrave Street, Wellington
Phone +64 499 5595
Website
s www.archives.govt.nz
Mr John Creser
www.dia.govt.nz
Via fyi.org.nz
fyi-request-16282-
[email address]
Tēnā koe Mr Creser,
Official Information Act Request ref: OIA2122-0100
Thank you for your two emails of the 3rd and 4th of August 2021, in which you requested
official information from Archives New Zealand. In your email of 4th August, which you
labelled an Official Information Act request, you asked:
I'd like to invite your office to clarify your position by advising the Justice Select Committee
which one of the two decisions can be considered trusted government information.
As this is not a request for information held by the Department of Internal Affairs, it cannot
be responded to under the Official Information Act. We will respond to you separately
concerning this request.
In your email of the 3rd of August, you requested:
The Ministry of Justice has prepared guidelines to assist public and private sector
organisations to develop and improve their fraud and corruption policy and procedures.
Please advise me of the policy you adopt to ensure that fraudulent records are not kept and
maintained by government departments.
A key purpose of the Public Records Act 2005 is for government to be held accountable by
“the creation and maintenance of full and accurate records of the affairs of central and local
government” (section 3(c)(i)). Archives New Zealand expects that the records that are
created and maintained by regulated parties are, therefore, accurate by default.
There is no policy per se to ensure that “fraudulent” records are not created. I am therefore,
refusing your request under section 18(e) of the Official Information Act as the document
requested does not exist.
Kia pono ai te rua Mahara – Enabling trusted government information
Auckland Regional Office, 95 Richard Pearse Drive, Mangere, Auckland
Christchurch Regional Office, 15 Harvard Avenue, Wigram, Christchurch
Dunedin Regional Office, 556 George Street, Dunedin
As has been noted in previous correspondence, the fact that the Court of Appeal created
two judgements in your 2003 case is not in itself a recordkeeping issue. The records created
are evidence of the process that occurred. As has also been noted, I do not have the power
to request the Court change its decision or amend the public record.
You have the right under section 28 of the OIA to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint can be found at
https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Clarke
Chief Archivist Kaipupuri Mātua
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