Dear Government Communications Security Bureau,

In recent declassified information it was revealed that the GCSB has prepared a Privacy Impact Assessment for Project CORTEX. I would like to request a copy of this Privacy Impact Assessment under the OIA. I would also like to request any draft copies of this Privacy Impact Assessment so I can see how it has changed over time.

It is worth noting that there is a strong public interest in seeing this information released as it would ensure that the New Zealand public can be assured that their privacy is being preserved.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Grainger

Dear Government Communications Security Bureau,

You said in your last email that you were extending the deadline for answering my OIA request to the 21st of November. It is now the 24th of November but I am yet to receive a response. Can you please give me an update on the status of my request?

I am hoping to receive a response very soon given that my request was originally filed more than two months ago, and the extended deadline has already expired.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Grainger

Dear Information,

I consider this response deficient. Please reconsider your response immediately or I will be appealing to the Ombudsman.

First: you have said that you are not going to release the document because they information is soon going to be posted publicly on your website. If there are to be any redactions to the information posted on your website then I would like to request unredacted copies under the OIA. This is because the pre-emptive release of information does not give rise to a right to appeal the withholding of any information to the Ombudsman. Only an OIA request gives rise to a right to appeal. Thus, in the event that any information is to be redacted from the public release of the PIA I would like to request the unredacted copies.

Second: I requested draft copies of the PIA. You said that a 'summary' of the drafts will be publicly available, and thus refused my request. A summary of what was in the drafts and the drafts themselves are vastly different documents. I do not consider it appropriate to rely upon s18(d) when only part of the information that I requested is going to be released.

Third: the Ombudsman says that when declining under s18(d) "The section presupposes, however, an
element of certainty about when the information will become publicly available. In these circumstances, it is good practice to provide the requester with a specific date of release
or to explain the perceived difficulty in meeting the request immediately." You have not done this. Please provide the date on which the information will be publicly available.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Grainger

Dear Information,

During September last year I requested a copy of the Privacy Impact Assessment for Project CORTEX. My request was refused by the Director on the grounds that the information would soon be publicly available on the GCSB website (www.gcsb.govt.nz).

However, as far as I can tell, the Privacy Impact Assessment is not yet available on the GCSB website. It has been approximately six months since your response that the information would soon be available. I would therefore like to request:

* a copy of the Privacy Impact Assessment for Project CORTEX
* any draft copies of the Privacy Impact Assessment for Project CORTEX

I would ask that my request be treated with urgency given the timeframe that has passed.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Grainger