New Zealand Ministry of 
 
Foreign Affairs and Trade 
Manatū Aorere   
 
3 May 2022 
195 Lambton Quay 
 
Private Bag 18−901 
Wellington 6160 
 
New Zealand 
Matthew Hooton 
 
T    +64 4 439 8000 
[FYI request #19111 email] 
F    +64 4 472 9596 
 
 
OIA 28007 
 
Tēnā koe Matthew Hooton 
 
I refer to your email of 11 April in which you request the following under the Official Information 
Act 1982 (OIA): 
 
… please advise the date on which ministry officials first proposed or considered the 
establishment of the position of Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific)/Tuia Tāngata. 
 
The specific Tuia Tangata role was created in early March 2022, following discussions with the 
Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2021 regarding ways to lift Aotearoa New Zealand’s engagement on 
the Sustainable Development Goals and Gender Equality in the context of the Pacific Resilience 
partnership approach, which Cabinet adopted in November 2021. 
 
Cabinet paper CAB-21-MIN-0401 New Zealand’s Pacific Engagement: From Reset to Resilience 
has been proactively released on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) website here: 
Proactive Release – New Zealand’s Pacific Engagement: From Reset to Resilience | New Zealand 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (mfat.govt.nz).  
 
Also proactively released on MFAT’s website are the Ministry’s advice to the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs on the appointment of Louisa Wall to the Tuia Tangata position, and the position 
description for the role. These documents are available here: Proactive Release: Tuia Tangata, 
appointment of Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific) | New Zealand Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Trade (mfat.govt.nz). 
 
Please note that we may publish this letter (with your personal details redacted) on the Ministry’s 
website. 
 
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at: 
[email address]. 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. 
 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
Julie-Anne Lee 
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
e   [MFAT request email]  
w   www.mfat.govt.nz 

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