26 October 2022
Max Shierlaw
[FYI request #20682 email]
Tēnā koe Max
Request for Information – Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act
(LGOIMA) 1987
We refer to your official information request dated 28 September 2022 and subsequent email
of 3 October 2022. You have asked for information about the Ombudsman’s report on the
investigation into Cr Chris Milne’s complaint, specifically:
“…Please supply all emails sent or received to or from Hutt City Council email
addresses, including internal emails, on both Thursday 22nd September 2022 and
Friday 23rd September 2022 concerning the Ombudsman's report on the Investigation
of Cr Milne's complaint to the Ombudsman.
For emails to external parties, please include in the response to this request:
1) the personal names and organisation names of the recipients
2) the time and date of the emails
3) the contents of emails
4) who at Hutt City Council sent the emails.
Specifically, please disclose who was blind copied into the email from the CEO to
Councillors which was sent by the CEO just after 2pm on Friday 23rd September
2022.
Please disclose the any phone calls made by any Hutt City Council employee to
external parties about this matter over the two days. Please include:
1) the personal names and organisation names of the people called.
2) who at Hutt City Council made the calls
3) the time and date of the phone calls
4) the purpose of the phone calls.”
The information you have requested is enclosed, as follows:
1. Emails as requested, including details of sender, recipients, time, date and content.
Please note that some information has been withheld under section 7(2)(a) of the
LGOIMA, to protect the privacy of that individual. In doing so, we considered the public
interest in making the information available and have determined that it does not
outweigh the need to protect the privacy of this individual.
2. Only one email was blind copied (BC) to other parties, this being the email from the
Chief Executive to Council ors, the Council’s Leadership Team, Kathryn Stannard and
Bruce Hodgins, sent at 2.29pm on Friday 23rd September 2022. A screen shot of this
is provided on page 3 of the attachments.
3. The Chief Executive had a telephone conversation with the independent Chair of the
Audit and Risk Subcommittee on 23 September 2022. There are no notes of the phone
call, but the purpose of the call was to agree an approach on how to deal with the
report.
4. The report was discussed at the Audit and Risk Subcommittee meeting of
28 September 2022. I refer you to page 4 of the minutes of this meeting, which are
available on the Hutt City Council’s website on the following link:
http://infocouncil.huttcity.govt.nz/Open/2022/09/ARSC_28092022_MIN_3076_AT.PDF
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that this letter may be published on the Council’s website.
Nāku noa, nā
Susan Sales
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy
Encl
Emails dated 22 and 23 September 2022, relating to the report
