Môrena Wayne,

 

Thank you for your request for official information dated 28 August 2022.

 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is currently considering your
request and will communicate a decision to you by Friday, 23 September
2022 unless otherwise advised.

 

QLDC is committed to the principle of availability and is pleased to be
assisting you with your request.

 

Ngâ mihi,

Maddy

 

 

Maddy Patterson | Senior
Official Information Advisor
Chief Executive’s Office |
Queenstown Lakes District
Council

DD: +64 3 450 1738
[2]QLDC-Logo_CMYK_Blue[3]www.qldc.govt.nz
E:
[1][email address]

 

Please note that my days of work
are: Mondays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays.

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: [4][FOI #20369 email]
Sent: Sunday, 28 August 2022 4:05:34 AM
To: "QLDC Services" <[5][Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut
Dear Queenstown-Lakes District Council,

May please have a copy of any, and all, communication relating to,
referencing, the privately occupied hut located on Pigeon Island since
the beginning of 2022.

This includes, but not limited to, any internal communications relating
to OIAs. Any external communications. Simply put any communication
whatsoever that relates to the hut.

Please note recollections of verbal conversations are subject to LGOIMA
and should be provided in a summary.

Could you also advise how the QLDC came to know that the former hut was
there by virtue of License to Occupy with a three month termination
clause and a peppercorn rental.

Yours faithfully,

Wayne Scott

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #20369 email]

Is [7][Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Queenstown-Lakes District Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[8]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published
on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA
or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
3. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
4. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
5. mailto:[Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
6. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
7. mailto:[Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
8. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
9. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Kia ora Wayne,

 

I have been talking to internal staff today about your request and we have
determined that the request is too broad to answer in its current state.
We charge requesters for large amounts of information and usually have to
extend the time to respond to a request when a response involves large
quantities of material. We will need to do this in this case if the scope
is not reduced. Here are our charging guidelines for your information (see
‘LGOIMA request costs’):

 

[1]Privacy and official information requests (qldc.govt.nz)

 

The project you’ve requested information on has spanned numerous emails
and the information on it is vast. In relation to your first request -
 Copy of any, and all, communication relating to, referencing, the
privately occupied hut located on Pigeon Island since the beginning of
2022. This includes, but not limited to, any internal communications
relating to OIAs. Any external communications. Simply put any
communication whatsoever that relates to the hut.

In relation to correspondence, we can do an email archive search to
address your request, however, you need to be more specific in your
correspondence request to ensure we target the information you actually
seek.

 

I have initially completed two email archive searches from January 2022:

 

Search one: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ in the subject line.
This search produced 1,513 emails.

 

Search two: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ anywhere in the email.
This search produced 21,126 emails.

 

We would need to decline this part of your request due to substantial
collation and research (s17(f), LGOIMA). We find that providing specific
email topics, can assist with reducing the size of correspondence requests
and ensures we target the correct information sought. Please provide these
details as soon as you can.

 

Please get in touch as soon as you can, so we can settle on a request that
has a smaller more manageable scope.

 

 

Ngâ mihi,

Poonam

 

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s [2][IMG]
Office

Queenstown Lakes District Council

P: +64 3 450 0379

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

From: Information Request
Sent: Monday, 29 August 2022 11:00 AM
To: [FOI #20369 email]
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

Môrena Wayne,

 

Thank you for your request for official information dated 28 August 2022.

 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is currently considering your
request and will communicate a decision to you by Friday, 23 September
2022 unless otherwise advised.

 

QLDC is committed to the principle of availability and is pleased to be
assisting you with your request.

 

Ngâ mihi,

Maddy

 

 

Maddy Patterson | Senior
Official Information Advisor
Chief Executive’s Office |
Queenstown Lakes District
Council

DD: +64 3 450 1738
[4]QLDC-Logo_CMYK_Blue[5]www.qldc.govt.nz
E:
[3][email address]

 

Please note that my days of work
are: Mondays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays.

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: [6][FOI #20369 email]
Sent: Sunday, 28 August 2022 4:05:34 AM
To: "QLDC Services" <[7][Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut
Dear Queenstown-Lakes District Council,

May please have a copy of any, and all, communication relating to,
referencing, the privately occupied hut located on Pigeon Island since
the beginning of 2022.

This includes, but not limited to, any internal communications relating
to OIAs. Any external communications. Simply put any communication
whatsoever that relates to the hut.

Please note recollections of verbal conversations are subject to LGOIMA
and should be provided in a summary.

Could you also advise how the QLDC came to know that the former hut was
there by virtue of License to Occupy with a three month termination
clause and a peppercorn rental.

Yours faithfully,

Wayne Scott

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #20369 email]

Is [9][Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Queenstown-Lakes District Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[10]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published
on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[11]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA
or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.qldc.govt.nz/your-council/pr...
2. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
5. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
6. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
7. mailto:[Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
8. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
9. mailto:[Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
10. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
11. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Kia ora Wayne,

We have done some correspondence searches to source emails in answer to this request.

For each search we did, the emails had to include ‘Pigeon Island’ in the subject line, and be either to or from, or have ccd or bccd the email address searched and date range we use was from January 2022 to 28 August 2022 as requested.

Here is a summary of the staff emails that were shared within the Property team and we have found the below number of emails:

• Morgan Govender - 464
• Quintin Howard - 112
• Mark Samways -104
• Stephanie Prendergast - 35
• Alisha Govind – 66
• Rory Cassidy Fennell - 25

Total number of emails: 806

As mentioned earlier this is quite a big request and we need to charge for the review of this many emails. From past experience, we find that reviewing 20 email chains can take up to an hour (due to multiple people needing to check the final response). This will give you an idea of how many emails you may be willing to pay for. Here are our charging guidelines (see ‘LGOIMA request costs’):

Privacy and official information requests (qldc.govt.nz)

Please have a look at our charging guidelines and let us know whether you’d like us to proceed and review these email searches. You may want to pick out a couple of the above searches initially for us to do – just let us know.

Depending on how many emails you want us to review, we may need to extend the time to respond to your request.

Please note a number of individuals have to review the emails and it’s these steps that are most time consuming, because it’s a considerable amount of work for each person who reviews these.

Before commencing review, we will notify you of the fixed cost, so you can agree to it before we proceed.

Ngā mihi,
Poonam

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s Office
Queenstown Lakes District Council
P: +64 3 450 0379

  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Scott <[FOI #20369 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 3 September 2022 1:03 PM
To: Information Request <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] - 2022 Communications

Dear Information Request,

Perhaps narrow it down to staff who work in your property department.

It seems as though you are actively trying to subvert the requirements of the Act.

It would seem logical that only a small handful of people would have had correspondence pertaining the privately occupied hut on Pigeon Island since the start of this year.

To date information requested has been drip feed and redactions have been applied for rather interesting reasons. I.e. a one word redaction to protect an opinion seems rather strenuous at best.

It is interesting that since the start of this year there have been over 20,000 emails which reference Pigeon Island. Given there has only been 166 working days this year to date that equates to approximately 120 emails per day which seems highly improbable; this again would suggest that QLDC is seeking to withhold information for reasons unknown.

Yours sincerely,

Wayne Scott

-----Original Message-----

Kia ora Wayne,

 

I have been talking to internal staff today about your request and we have determined that the request is too broad to answer in its current state.
We charge requesters for large amounts of information and usually have to extend the time to respond to a request when a response involves large quantities of material. We will need to do this in this case if the scope is not reduced. Here are our charging guidelines for your information (see ‘LGOIMA request costs’):

 

[1]Privacy and official information requests (qldc.govt.nz)

 

The project you’ve requested information on has spanned numerous emails and the information on it is vast. In relation to your first request -
 Copy of any, and all, communication relating to, referencing, the privately occupied hut located on Pigeon Island since the beginning of 2022. This includes, but not limited to, any internal communications relating to OIAs. Any external communications. Simply put any communication whatsoever that relates to the hut.

In relation to correspondence, we can do an email archive search to address your request, however, you need to be more specific in your correspondence request to ensure we target the information you actually seek.

 

I have initially completed two email archive searches from January 2022:

 

Search one: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ in the subject line.
This search produced 1,513 emails.

 

Search two: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ anywhere in the email.
This search produced 21,126 emails.

 

We would need to decline this part of your request due to substantial collation and research (s17(f), LGOIMA). We find that providing specific email topics, can assist with reducing the size of correspondence requests and ensures we target the correct information sought. Please provide these details as soon as you can.

 

Please get in touch as soon as you can, so we can settle on a request that has a smaller more manageable scope.

 

 

Ngâ mihi,

Poonam

 

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s [2][IMG] Office

Queenstown Lakes District Council

P: +64 3 450 0379

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

From: Information Request
Sent: Monday, 29 August 2022 11:00 AM
To: [FOI #20369 email]
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

Môrena Wayne,

 

Thank you for your request for official information dated 28 August 2022.

 

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is currently considering your request and will communicate a decision to you by Friday, 23 September
2022 unless otherwise advised.

 

QLDC is committed to the principle of availability and is pleased to be assisting you with your request.

 

Ngâ mihi,

Maddy

 

 

Maddy Patterson | Senior
Official Information Advisor
Chief Executive’s Office |
Queenstown Lakes District
Council

DD: +64 3 450 1738
[4]QLDC-Logo_CMYK_Blue[5]www.qldc.govt.nz
E:
[3][email address]

 

Please note that my days of work
are: Mondays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays.

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #20369 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Hi Wayne,

 

Thanks for your email.

 

Everything related to the privately owned Pigeon Island hut has been
provided to you in our previous responses. We have discussed your current
request with our team and as informed to you earlier the emails you
requested would be available at a charge. Our charging guidelines for the
same has been shared with you in our last email.

 

And in regards to your second question :

“Could you also advise how QLDC came to know that the former hut was there
by virtue of License to Occupy with a three month termination clause and a
peppercorn rental

o As advised by our property team there were notes on file from previous
managers that suggested that a Licence to Occupy was contemplated in
1971, at a peppercorn rental determinable upon 3x months written
notice by either party. However the document is not on file and may
never have been drafted.

 

We do not have any further information to provide in response to your
requests.

Your best course of action is to make a complaint to the Office of the
Ombudsman. Here are the details for making complaints.

 

Right to review the above decision

 

Note that you have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman of this decision.  Information about this process is available
at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please contact
[2][email address] (Governance & Stakeholder Services
Manager).

 

 

 

Thanks,

Poonam

 

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s [3][IMG]
Office

Queenstown Lakes District Council

P: +64 3 450 0379

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

[4]Graphical user interface, text, application, email Description
automatically generated

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Scott <[5][FOI #20369 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 10 September 2022 9:57 AM
To: Information Request <[6][email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

 

Dear Information Request,

 

This seems to be getting made a lot more complicated that it needs to be.

 

I am not seeking general information regarding pigeon island. But specific
information regarding the privately occupied hut on pigeon island.

 

It seems as though QLDC is intentionally seeking to subvert the
requirements of the Act.

 

I am sure that each of those staff members that you have listed would be
able to recall if they have had any correspondence pertaining to the hut
in question and would be able to undertake their own search’s on their own
systems in a very short period of time.

 

Interestingly the Ombudsman agrees with me but had requested that I make a
further request to see whether QLDC can provide the information as
requested before they become involved.

 

It seems as though QLDC is intentionally withholding information.

 

Could I ask that you include Peter Hansby within your search given he is
ultimately responsible for this hut.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wayne Scott

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Information Request
Sent: Friday, 9 September 2022 4:47 PM
To: Wayne Scott <[7][FOI #20369 email]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

 

 

Kia ora Wayne,

 

We have done some correspondence searches to source emails in answer to
this request.

 

For each search we did, the emails had to include ‘Pigeon Island’ in the
subject line, and be either to or from, or have ccd or bccd the email
address searched and date range we use was from January 2022 to 28 August
2022 as requested.

 

Here is a summary of the staff emails that were shared within the Property
team and we have found the below number of emails:

 

•             Morgan Govender - 464

•             Quintin Howard - 112

•             Mark Samways -104

•             Stephanie Prendergast - 35

•             Alisha Govind – 66

•             Rory Cassidy Fennell - 25

 

Total number of emails: 806

 

As mentioned earlier this is quite a big request and we need to charge for
the review of this many emails. From past experience, we find that
reviewing 20 email chains can take up to an hour (due to multiple people
needing to check the final response). This will give you an idea of how
many emails you may be willing to pay for. Here are our charging
guidelines (see ‘LGOIMA request costs’):

 

Privacy and official information requests (qldc.govt.nz)

 

Please have a look at our charging guidelines and let us know whether
you’d like us to proceed and review these email searches. You may want to
pick out a couple of the above searches initially for us to do – just let
us know.

 

Depending on how many emails you want us to review, we may need to extend
the time to respond to your request.

 

Please note a number of individuals have to review the emails and it’s
these steps that are most time consuming, because it’s a considerable
amount of work for each person who reviews these.

 

Before commencing review, we will notify you of the fixed cost, so you can
agree to it before we proceed.

 

 

Ngâ mihi,

Poonam

 

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s [8][IMG]
Office

Queenstown Lakes District Council

P: +64 3 450 0379

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

[9]Graphical user interface, text, application, email Description
automatically generated

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Wayne Scott <[10][FOI #20369 email]>

Sent: Saturday, 3 September 2022 1:03 PM

To: Information Request <[11][email address]>

Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

Dear Information Request,

 

Perhaps narrow it down to staff who work in your property department.

 

It seems as though you are actively trying to subvert the requirements of
the Act.

 

It would seem logical that only a small handful of people would have had
correspondence pertaining the privately occupied hut on Pigeon Island
since the start of this year.

 

To date information requested has been drip feed and redactions have been
applied for rather interesting reasons. I.e. a one word redaction to
protect an opinion seems rather strenuous at best.

 

It is interesting that since the start of this year there have been over
20,000 emails which reference Pigeon Island. Given there has only been 166
working days this year to date that equates to approximately 120 emails
per day which seems highly improbable; this again would suggest that QLDC
is seeking to withhold information for reasons unknown.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wayne Scott

 

From: Information Request
Sent: Friday, 2 September 2022 4:26 PM
To: '[FOI #20369 email]'
<[12][FOI #20369 email]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Pigeon Island Hut [#40931H] -
2022 Communications

 

 

Kia ora Wayne,

 

I have been talking to internal staff today about your request and we have
determined that the request is too broad to answer in its current state.
We charge requesters for large amounts of information and usually have to
extend the time to respond to a request when a response involves large
quantities of material. We will need to do this in this case if the scope
is not reduced. Here are our charging guidelines for your information (see
‘LGOIMA request costs’):

 

[13]Privacy and official information requests (qldc.govt.nz)

 

The project you’ve requested information on has spanned numerous emails
and the information on it is vast. In relation to your first request -
 Copy of any, and all, communication relating to, referencing, the
privately occupied hut located on Pigeon Island since the beginning of
2022. This includes, but not limited to, any internal communications
relating to OIAs. Any external communications. Simply put any
communication whatsoever that relates to the hut.

In relation to correspondence, we can do an email archive search to
address your request, however, you need to be more specific in your
correspondence request to ensure we target the information you actually
seek.

 

I have initially completed two email archive searches from January 2022:

 

Search one: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ in the subject line.
This search produced 1,513 emails.

 

Search two: All emails that include ‘Pigeon Island’ anywhere in the email.
This search produced 21,126 emails.

 

We would need to decline this part of your request due to substantial
collation and research (s17(f), LGOIMA). We find that providing specific
email topics, can assist with reducing the size of correspondence requests
and ensures we target the correct information sought. Please provide these
details as soon as you can.

 

Please get in touch as soon as you can, so we can settle on a request that
has a smaller more manageable scope.

 

 

Ngâ mihi,

Poonam

 

Poonam Sethi  | Official Information Advisor | Chief Executive’s [14][IMG]
Office

Queenstown Lakes District Council

P: +64 3 450 0379

 

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
5. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
8. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/
10. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
11. mailto:[email address]
12. mailto:[FOI #20369 email]
13. https://www.qldc.govt.nz/your-council/pr...
14. http://www.qldc.govt.nz/

hide quoted sections