Fact check on early covid19 infomation
Michael Bryant made this Official Information request to Andrew Little
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From: Michael Bryant
Dear Andrew Little,
This is an official information request directed to the minister of heath to provide a fact check on an article posted by Newshub some time ago regarding infomation on Covid19 and the vaccine from earlier in the pandemic. I have posted a link to the article in question at the bottom of this letter.
My request pretains to the information provided in this article from both parties involved, from when the first claim is stated and the counter argument is offered through to the end.
I am particularly interested in knowing how many of the counter claims have held up over time and are still accepted as factual at present, and how many were later found out to be incorrect or false, weather that be from New data becoming avaliable over time, further studies being published, whistle blowers releasing information, proceedings in the USA congress or Senate that have lead to revelations, People retracting statements made previously, official data provided by government entities or any other method.
I expect that all information provided to the public in this article, and the sources linked throughout are investigated throughly and any discrepancies are highlighted and the new understanding of what is correct or true for each particular peice is provided.
I understand that this is alot of data and information to check so I thank you and your team in advance for the work needed to get this done.
Link:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...
Yours faithfully,
Michael Bryant
From: A Little Office (MIN)
Andrew Little
Tçnâ koe
Thank you for contacting the office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of
Health, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister Responsible
for the NZSIS, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for
Pike River Re-entry and Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s
Response to The Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the
Christchurch Mosques.
For general health advice and information you can call Healthline on
Freephone 0800 611 116 anytime.
If you need to talk to someone about how you are feeling, you can call or
text 1737 for free at any time to talk to a trained counsellor. There is
more information available here: [1]https://1737.org.nz/.
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· To find out more about Minister Little read his [2]biography or
recent [3]statements.
Ngâ mihi
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP
Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email [4][Andrew Little request email]
| Web [5]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost Parliament, Private Bag 18 041,
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
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2. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/bio...
3. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
4. mailto:[Andrew Little request email]
5. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
From: Maria Sykes
Kia ora Michael
Thank you for your email received 6 December 2022 in which you submitted an Official Information Act request to the Hon Andrew Little, Minister of Health.
You requested:
"My request pretains to the information provided in this article from both parties involved, from when the first claim is stated and the counter argument is offered through to the end.
I am particularly interested in knowing how many of the counter claims have held up over time and are still accepted as factual at present, and how many were later found out to be incorrect or false, weather that be from New data becoming avaliable over time, further studies being published, whistle blowers releasing information, proceedings in the USA congress or Senate that have lead to revelations, People retracting statements made previously, official data provided by government entities or any other method.
I expect that all information provided to the public in this article, and the sources linked throughout are investigated throughly and any discrepancies are highlighted and the new understanding of what is correct or true for each particular peice is provided."
Pursuant to section 15 (1) of the Act we will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no later than 24 January 2023 being 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request within this timeframe, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Ngâ mihi nui
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of Health, Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to The Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry
Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email [Andrew Little request email] | Web beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost Parliament, Private Bag 18 041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’ portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy considerations. Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
Authorised by Hon Andrew Little MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Ref:
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Bryant [mailto:[FOI #21346 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 December 2022 3:49 AM
To: A Little Office (MIN) <[Andrew Little request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Fact check on early covid19 infomation
Dear Andrew Little,
This is an official information request directed to the minister of heath to provide a fact check on an article posted by Newshub some time ago regarding infomation on Covid19 and the vaccine from earlier in the pandemic. I have posted a link to the article in question at the bottom of this letter.
My request pretains to the information provided in this article from both parties involved, from when the first claim is stated and the counter argument is offered through to the end.
I am particularly interested in knowing how many of the counter claims have held up over time and are still accepted as factual at present, and how many were later found out to be incorrect or false, weather that be from New data becoming avaliable over time, further studies being published, whistle blowers releasing information, proceedings in the USA congress or Senate that have lead to revelations, People retracting statements made previously, official data provided by government entities or any other method.
I expect that all information provided to the public in this article, and the sources linked throughout are investigated throughly and any discrepancies are highlighted and the new understanding of what is correct or true for each particular peice is provided.
I understand that this is alot of data and information to check so I thank you and your team in advance for the work needed to get this done.
Link:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...
Yours faithfully,
Michael Bryant
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From: A Little Office (MIN)
Andrew Little
Kia ora
Please find attached a response to your request for official information
from Hon Andrew Little, Minister of Health.
Ngâ mihi nui
Vince Neaves
Private Secretary (Health) to Hon Andrew Little MP
DDI +64 4 817 9169 |Email [1][email address]
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of Health, Lead Coordination
Minister for the Government’s Response to The Royal Commission’s Report
into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques, Minister for Treaty
of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister
Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry
Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email
[2][Andrew Little request email] | Web [3]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost
Parliament, Private Bag 18 041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New
Zealand
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or
constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list:
date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to ask for a
copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
[4]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
Authorised by Hon Andrew Little MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
New Zealand
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Andrew Little request email]
3. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
4. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
From: Michael Bryant
Dear A Little Office (MIN),
I thank you for your reply, however I find myself somewhat dissapointed with the outcome and with what infomation that was provided.
I will try to explain my request in another matter.
Dr Helen Petousis-Harris and Dr Alison Campbell are named and quoted in this article as being leading experts in the field. At the time, Being one of the two verified main news providers on all things covid whilst also being used as a direct communication platform for the govt to address the Public on a daily basis regarding Public health notices, it is then expected more than ever, that the news reported by newshub is to be truthful, accurate, nonbaised and transparent when approaching all subject matters, especially one as important as Covid19.
It then also expected that if any untrue statements made to the public in regards to covid19 would be reported on, amended or corrected at a later date by our elected officials, being that in special circumstances like the ones we faced over the last 3 years, the govts voice becomes the media's voice, and thus the trust by the public that the media's voice is the govts voice.
This is what is interpreted to be happening in the article my request pertains to. Due to the way the issue is discussed in the article in regards to covid19 , scientists and experts, misinformation and truth, it comes across and is expected in times like these that the experts involved have some stand in the government programs, weather it be direct involvement or some sort of advisory role.
If this is not the case, and this is infact nothing more than an opinion piece, then it concerns me highly that the same people that we the public trusted to elect to office can stand idly by, knowing that it is going to be interpreted by the public as coming from the government, and watch an academic with a different theroy on the situation be dismantled in that way. Especially when there are infact statements he made that turned out to be known as truth later in time.
I do thank you for the links you provided regarding infomation on Testing and the processes and procedures involved in PCR testing, and also the further information source, however this does nothing to address some of the topics covered in the article, including the lab leak theory that is now widely all but establushed as fact to be the cause of the outbreak in late 2019, even though just 2 or 3 years ago, if you had an academic background and publicly suggested that idea, you would be publicly mocked by the government, by the mainstream experts and by the media, your licence revoked and career ruined, as we sadly witnessed doctors and scientists, not just here in New Zealand but across the globe suffer through.
And so finally, I ask you to try look at how the situation can be interpted by the public. How they remember seeing officials state one thing about covid, then it turns out the family member you vilified as a conspiracy theorist was actually correct about a few things.
But there never seems to be any accountability when our govt got it wrong. If they got it wrong.
Please. Reconsider your answer. It would go a long way in restoring trust In the office you represent by admiting when you were wrong. Weather it be directly saying things later known to be wrong or indirectly by allowing articles such as these to be published without clarifying these people have no more credibility or authority than the person whose ideas they are dismantling.
I am also not claiming that everything in the article that is ridiculed is actually true either. I want that to be clear. Some of the responses to his clams are infact perfect and need not to be addressed.
I hope you reconsider your response and look forward to reading your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Bryant
From: A Little Office (MIN)
Andrew Little
Tçnâ koe
Thank you for contacting the office of Hon Andrew Little MP, Minister of
Defence, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi
Negotiations, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister Responsible for
the GCSB, and Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to
The Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the
Christchurch Mosques.
While the Minister considers all correspondence to be important, and all
messages are carefully read and considered, it is not always possible to
personally reply to all emails. As such, the following guidelines apply:
· If your message is for Minister Little’s advice, or if you have
copied your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with
more appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted,
· If you have invited Minister Little to an event then a member of
staff may contact you for more information if the Minister’s attendance
might be possible,
· If you have made a request for official information then this
will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official
Information Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant
Minister or agency,
· If you have made a request under the Privacy Act then this will
be managed in accordance with the principles of the Privacy Act 2020,
which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency,
· If you are a journalist then your request will be triaged by a
press secretary,
· To find out more about Minister Little read his [1]biography or
recent [2]statements.
Ngâ mihi
Office of Hon Andrew Little MP
Reception +64 4 817 8707 | Ministerial Email [3][Andrew Little request email]
| Web [4]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost Parliament, Private Bag 18 041,
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
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2. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
3. mailto:[Andrew Little request email]
4. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
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