21 December 2022
Ref 2223-1095
Amy Parker
[FYI request #21204 email] Tēnā koe Amy
Thank you for writing to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on 23 November
2022, to request the following, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
•
information about expenses the government has occurred sending MBIE officials to meet with
[Business New Zealand President
] Kirk Hope for the last 3 years.
MBIE expenses expectations
All MBIE staff are required to adhere to the expectations outlined in our Payments Policy, which states
that any spending is strictly for Ministry-related business.
Under this policy, purchases made by MBIE staff must follow the correct approval processes, be correctly
coded, completed within a stated time period and come with any required documentation.
Purchases must also comply with relevant legal requirements, and be able to withstand audit and public
scrutiny. Purchases must be transparent, appropriate for the circumstances, demonstrably impartial and
free from conflicts of interest.
Your request
I am declining your request under the administrative grounds in section 18(f) of the OIA, due to the
substantial collation required to provide a response. I have made this decision for the following reasons:
• No information contained under Business New Zealand as a supplier matches the scope of your
request; and
• Identifying the information in scope would require a lengthy manual search through a large
quantity of invoices, with no clear way for us to establish the parameters of a search for
invoices that are in scope.
I have considered whether the remedies in section 18A of the OIA, namely extending the time frame for
responding or charging for this information would allow your request to be granted. However, for the
reasons noted above, I do not believe this would provide a way for us to identify the spending you have
requested.
Thank you again for writing to MBIE. Under section 28(3) of the OIA, you have the right to refer our
response to an Ombudsman for review. You can find out more by calling 0800 802 602, or by emailing
[email address]. Nāku noa, nā
Glen Jenkins
Director of Operations
Finance and Performance
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