Level 2
119 Ghuznee Street
P O Box 9744
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
[NZ On Air request email]
www.nzonair.govt.nz
Tel: 04 382 9524
Fax: 04 382 9546
17 November 2022
Damien De Ment
By email
: [email address]
Tēnā koe Damien,
Official Information request and response
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act (“OIA”) dated 27 October 2022.
You have requested:
1. Al meeting minutes, or emails relating to the application for funding, including all applications,
proposals or grant submissions made by the producers for the production of Web of Chaos.
2. Al meeting minutes, emails relating to the approval of funding by NZ on Air to the producers for
the production of Web of Chaos. Including all contracts, agreements, conditions finalised as part
of funding.
3. Al meeting minutes, emails, forms or resources used to qualitatively review and safety check the
Web of Chaos 'documentary' before it was approved to be published publicly.
4. An explanation why this documentary is being marketed by two names
Please find our response to your request below:
1. The producers of the project your request concerns were originally provided funding for a
treatment that differs in subject matter from the
Web of Chaos documentary that was screened
on TVNZ. Due to delays caused by COVID-19, the original treatment for the project was not able
to be completed within a reasonable timeframe.
A revised treatment was then provided by the producers. This treatment was approved by
Television New Zealand and agreed to by NZ On Air on 19 November 2021.
The subject matter of the original proposal is considered both personally and commercially
sensitive and remains a live issue that the producers may yet create as a new project. We
therefore decline to release the original proposal under Section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA due to
commercial sensitivity.
Connecting and reflecting our nation
However, having regard to the aims of your request, we can provide you with the following
documentation:
• A copy of the revised treatment for the project, as approved by Television New
Zealand.
2. As noted at Paragraph 1 of this response, the original proposal submitted significantly changed
and a revised treatment was prepared and approved. Considering this, the funding
recommendation paper submitted to NZ On Air’s Staff Investment Committee, which discusses
the original proposal at length, does not discuss the ultimately created documentary your
request concerns.
As stated above, the subject matter of the original proposal is considered both personal y and
commercial y sensitive and remains a live issue. The original treatment may be covered in the
creation of future content. We therefore decline to release the original recommendation paper
under Section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA due to commercial sensitivity.
However, we can provide you with the fol owing documentation:
• A copy of the funding agreement for the original documentary
• A copy of the funding letter of offer provided to the producers of the project
The fol owing redactions in these documents have been made:
• Details of private information under s9(2)(a) of the OIA to protect the privacy of
natural persons
• Details of commercial y sensitive information under s9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA
3. Unde
r Section 42 of the Broadcasting Act, NZ On Air is prohibited from giving any editorial
direction to any successful funding applicant. NZ On Air does not view any content it funds prior
to publication of the content and has no right of review. The editorial oversight in addition to the
pre-release viewing and approval of any funded content is the responsibility of the platform that
commissions and publishes the content.
Considering this, we decline this part of your request under section 18(g) of the OIA as the
information requested is not held by NZ On Air and we have no grounds for believing that the
information is either held by another department or is connected more closely with the functions
of another department.
4. As noted above, NZ On Air is prohibited from giving any editorial direction to any successful
applicants. It as the applicant and commissioning broadcaster’s discretion as to how the funded
content is titled or marketed.
Connecting and reflecting our nation
For your information, funding provided by NZ On Air for all successful projects is
searchable on our
website. You can als
o sign up to receive our regular industry newsletter via our website.
You have the right to refer this response to the Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied with it. More
information on how to do this is
here. NZ On Air proactively releases information in accordance with the
Government’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. This includes
publishing responses to requests for information under the OIA. Please note that this response (with your
name removed) wil be published on the NZ On Air website shortly and wil remain on our website for 12
months.
Thank you for your interest in our work.
Yours sincerely
Sharon Kerry
HEAD OF CORPORATE SERVICES
Connecting and reflecting our nation
