Canterbury Victim
[FYI request #21258 email]
Tēna koe
Thank you for your email received on 28 November 2022, which has been considered under
the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), requesting the fol owing information:
When did the Minister first become aware of the document that exists at
https://bit.ly/3K29MME? If there does not exist a document with this information then
an approximate date from the Minister’s memory wil fulfil the request. If the Minister
has no recol ection of becoming aware of the document before receiving this request
for official information, then the date the Minister was asked to recal their memory will
fulfil the request.
The linked document includes official information where government employees at
Southern Response have been altering documents and instructing others to alter
documents they did not author in order to create a false representation of facts and
timelines where those documents were then used to cause loss by deception. When
did the Minister first become aware of these or similar events? If there does not exist
a document with this information then an approximate date from the Minister’s memory
wil fulfil the request. If the Minister has no recol ection of becoming aware of such
events before receiving this request for official information, then the date the Minister
was asked to recal their memory wil fulfil the request.
The linked document includes official information where Southern Response
employees conspired with a Consent Team Leader at Christchurch City Council to get
agreement that a building consent would be granted despite the repair methodology
did not match the submitted technical documents, was in violation of the MBIE repair
guidance, and ultimately would result in a house repair that they knew had not been
approved as meeting the Building Code. When did the Minister first become aware of
these or similar events? This question is not limited to the example given in the linked
document and can relate to any instance of this deceptive behaviour. If there does not
exist a document with this information then an approximate date from the Minister’s
memory will fulfil the request. If the Minister has no recol ection of becoming aware of
such events before receiving this request for official information, then the date the
Minister was asked to recal their memory wil fulfil the request.
The linked document includes information regarding Southern Response committing a
significant breach of the Fair Insurance Code (the accepted New Zealand Code of
Ethics for the Insurance Industry) so significantly that the behaviour of the involved
government employees would bring the entirety of the New Zealand Insurance Industry
into disrepute. When did the Minister first become aware that government employees
were responsible for the first ever unresolved significant breach of the Fair Insurance
Code being referred to the Insurance Council of New Zealand? If there does not exist
a document with this information then an approximate date from the Minister’s memory
wil fulfil the request. If the Minister has no recol ection of becoming aware of such
events before receiving this request for official information, then the date the Minister
was asked to recal their memory wil fulfil the request.
The linked document includes information regarding the Dispute Resolution Scheme
(regulated by the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution)
Act 2008) specifical y not addressing matters of dishonesty in their assessment of
behaviour of the government staff despite finding that Southern Response significantly
breached the Fair Insurance Code. When did the Minister first become aware that the
Dispute Resolution Scheme declined to consider dishonesty, when specifical y asked
to address matters of dishonesty in the details of the complaint, when assessing
violations of the insurance industry Code of Ethics? This question is not limited to the
example given in the linked document and can relate to any instance of this
behaviour. If there does not exist a document with this information then an
approximate date from the Minister’s memory wil fulfil the request. If the Minister has
no recol ection of becoming aware of such events before receiving this request for
official information, then the date the Minister was asked to recal their memory will
fulfil the request.
The linked document includes official information regarding the Insurance Council of
New Zealand (ICNZ) communicating with the CEO of Southern Response stating that
the complaint of the behaviour of Southern Response had been heard at their last
meeting despite us being told that it would not be heard at that meeting; and that had
ICNZ not forced us to go through the Dispute Resolution Scheme that ICNZ would
have found Southern Response in violation of the Code at that meeting, but instead
ICNZ delayed the complaint of two cancer patients to al ow Southern Response to be
better prepared should the DIspute Resolution Scheme refer the complaint back to
ICNZ. Southern Response then went on to utilise the law firm where a former partner,
and consultant of that law firm is a sitting member of the ICNZ committee that assessed
Southern Response’s behaviour. When did the Minister first become aware of these
events? If there does not exist a document with this information then an approximate
date from the Minister’s memory will fulfil the request. If the Minister has no
recol ection of becoming aware of such events before receiving this request for official
information, then the date the Minister was asked to recal their memory wil fulfil the
request.
The linked document includes information regarding the Dispute Resolution Scheme
finding that the Significant Breach of the Fair Insurance Code was unresolved despite
the apology and ex gratia payment, but the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ)
stating that the complaint was resolved by the apology and ex gratia payment. This is
despite direct communication between Southern Response and ICNZ where Anthony
Honeybone states that the apology was not sincere and instead was simply easier than
tel ing me how I was wrong about Southern Response’s behaviour. The linked
document also addresses al parts of the Southern Response apology with official
information to show that it was not sincere. When did the Minister first become aware
of these events? If there does not exist a document with this information then an
approximate date from the Minister’s memory wil fulfil the request. If the Minister has
no recol ection of becoming aware of such events before receiving this request for
official information, then the date the Minister was asked to recal their memory will
fulfil the request.
The linked document includes information regarding government employees setting a
one week deadline for me after I told them I was in hospital and needed to reduce
stress. The deadline required me to provide engineering information because they
would not accept their own engineering advice that their desired repair methodology
was inappropriate. These actions have been described by the New Zealand Police as
“seems inappropriate and appears to be taking advantage of your medical
circumstances”. When did the Minister first become aware of these events? If there
does not exist a document with this information then an approximate date from the
Minister’s memory wil fulfil the request. If the Minister has no recol ection of becoming
aware of such events before receiving this request for official information, then the date
the Minister was asked to recal their memory will fulfil the request.
Please provide the dates for each of these connected events if they happened with the
Minister al for a single official information requestor within the last 6 months:
I have reviewed your request and under section 18 (g) of the Official Information Act, the
information requested is not held by me or my department.
You have the right to seek and investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
Freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Hon Wil ie Jackson
Minister of Māori Development
