National Headquarters
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
National Headquarters
Spark Central , Level 7
42-52 Willis Street
Wellington Central
Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 496 3600
4 November 2022
Mark MacDonald
By email: [FYI request #20357 email]
Tēnā koe Mark
Information Request –PWC audit of UFBA
I refer to your official information request dated 26 August 2022 asking for
Information about the PWC audit of the UFBA.
On 23 September 2022, we responded to part of your request and notified you that an extension
for consultation was required to 4 November 2022. We advised that there had been no formal
advice provided about the appropriateness of the appointments of the Chair and Chief Executive
of Tangata Matatau Ltd.
You emailed on 26 September 2022. You corrected our misunderstanding about the type of
information you were seeking in relation to question 3, and we have responded to the request
below. You also refined question 4 of your request to all communications from August and
September 2020 only around the 2020 UFBA investigation into the UFBA CEO.
In accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), please find below a
response to your request.
1. Please provide the 2021 PWC audit of the funding provided to the UFBA.
Please find enclosed as appendix 1 the 2021 PWC audit of the funding provided to the UFBA.
2. Please provide all communications around commissioning this audit.
Please find enclosed all communications Fire and Emergency hold around the commissioning of
the PWC audit. Some personal information has been withheld to protect the privacy of natural
persons under section 9(2)(a) of the Official information Act 1982. We do not consider that there is
a public interest in the release of the information which outweighs withholding it.
3. Please provide all information around PWC's advice about the appropriateness of the
appointments of the Chair and Chief Executive of the UFBA as directors of Tangata Matatau Ltd.
Providing advice on the appropriateness of the appointments was outside of the Terms of
Reference for PWC’s audit of UFBA. However, please find enclosed as appendix 3 an email in scope
of your request that refers to the query from the Audit and Risk Committee about the
appointments. Following on from this conversation, verbal advice was provided by PWC to the Fire
and Emergency Board. Please find enclosed in appendix 3 part of the board minute of 25 June
2021.
Some information in appendix 3 has been withheld to protect the privacy of natural persons under
section 9(2)(a) of the OIA. We do not consider that there is a public interest in the release of the
information which outweighs withholding it.
4. Please provide all communications from August and September 2020 around the 2020 UFBA
investigation into the UFBA CEO.
Please find enclosed as appendix 4 all communications in scope of your request.
A decision has been made to withhold some of the information under the following sections of the
OIA:
• Section 9(2)(h) - to maintain legal professional privilege
• Section 9(2)(a) to protect the privacy of natural persons
• Section 9(2)(g)(i) - to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and
frank expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of an
organisation or officers and employees of any public service agency or organisation in the
course of their duty; and
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is availab
le at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Note also that this response (with your personal details removed) may be published on the Fire
and Emergency website.
Nāku noa nā
Julia McCook-Weir
Manager, Information Requests
encl
