Investigation of Mill Rd Spraying Incident of Oct 2021 initiated by NTA manager Calvin Thomas WDC

Northland Toxin Awareness Group made this Official Information request to Whangarei District Council

Response to this request is long overdue. By law Whangarei District Council should have responded by now (details and exceptions). You can complain to the Ombudsman.

From: Northland Toxin Awareness Group

Dear Whangarei District Council,

On October 20th in 2021 three young children were sprayed with weed killer by a WDC contractor as they were walking on the sidewalk on Mill road in Whangarei. This was witness by a member of the public and reported to the Northland Toxin Awareness Group. I consequently submitted a report to WDC, requesting an investigation of this incident. In April 2022 NTA Manager Calvin Thomas commissioned an investigation by the independent company ‘Incident Prevention Group’ (IPG) into this spraying incident.
I’ve had numerous communications with IPGs managing director Karl Berendt. As the complainant, I asked to be notified when his report is finalized and requested a copy. Mr. Berendt told me that I would have to make this request from WDC.

I herewith request to be informed when the IPG report is finalized and wish to receive a copy of this report.

Yours faithfully,
Nora Shayeb
Coordinator of the Northland Toxin Awareness Group

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Whangarei District Council


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Tēnā koe,

Thank you for contacting us. Your request has been logged under the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

Council is ordinarily required to respond to requests under the Act no
later than 20 working days after receipt of a request. However, under
section 2(1) of the Act, the period from 20 December 2022 to 10 January
2023 is not counted for the purposes of calculating working days. While we
will make every effort to respond to your request as soon as possible,
there may potentially be a delay in responding to your request over the
Christmas period.

You can also call us freephone 0800 932 463. Please quote Request No.
OIA230629 if you require any further information.

If you would like to notify us about anything further regarding this
matter, you can reply to this email.

Ngā mihi,

Whangarei District Council

--EmailIdentifier---eyJJSWQiOiJhZWYzMWMxNS04MmRlLTQ5NmMtYWRjNC1hZmFkNTdlNjU0YzUiLCJIIjoiISFIQUowNlFib2srQUtMMCtZNU0zMTcxIn0=---EmailIdentifier--

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From: Jacqui Crompton
Whangarei District Council


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Tçnâ koe Ms Shayeb 

I refer to your request of 8 January 2023 asking for a copy of the
finalised report on an investigation into a 2021 Mill Rd spraying incident
or to be informed when the report is finalised. Under the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 we are required to make a
decision regarding your request within 20 days of receipt.  Unfortunately
as at this date the report requested is not available; your request was
referred to the Northland Transportation Alliance for consideration and
they have advised that at this stage the report has not been finalised. 

I note that you have also requested that you be informed when the report
is finalised – I will be referring this request to the Northland
Transportation Alliance and asking them to contact you in due course.

I hope this information is of some assistance in responding to your
request. If you believe we have not responded appropriately to your
request, you have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of
the Act, to apply to the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of
the decision.

Regards

Jacqui Crompton

Official Information Requests Team  

Whangarei District Council | Forum North | Private Bag 9023, Whangarei
0148 | [1]www.wdc.govt.nz

WDC Call Centre 09 430 4200

 

[2]WDC - Final email sig

 

 

 

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From: Northland Toxin Awareness Group

Dear Jacqui Crompton,

can you please let me know what the current status of the investigation is?

Yours sincerely,

Northland Toxin Awareness Group
Nora Shayeb

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From: Jacqui Crompton
Whangarei District Council

Kia ora Ms Shayeb

Thank you for your follow up email regarding your request for the Investigative Report from the Mill Road Spraying Incident.

I have contacted Calvin Thomas from the Northland Transportation Alliance for an update. He has advised that a draft report has been prepared but there are amendments to be made to ensure accuracy of the report. Calvin has advised that the report should be finalised within the next few weeks. Please feel free to contact me for an update around the beginning of May, say 4 weeks' time.

I hope this information is of some assistance in responding to your request. If you believe we have not responded appropriately to your request, you have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of the Act, to apply to the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of the decision.

Have a safe and happy Easter break.

Regards,

Jacqui Crompton
Official Information Requests Team
Whangarei District Council | Forum North | Private Bag 9023, Whangarei 0148 | http://www.wdc.govt.nz/
WDC Call Centre 09 430 4200

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From: Northland Toxin Awareness Group

Tena koe Jacqui,

I was under the impression that the investigation into the Mill Rd. spraying incident was commissioned to an independent company, the Incident Prevention Group (IPG), to ensure an unbiased outcome.

I’m also under the impression that WDC is responsible for controlling and monitoring their contractors. As such WDC is the party being investigated and shouldn’t be able to make amendments to this report.

I’ve been informed that a ‘draft’ report has been submitted to Calvin Thomas for review on the 15th of December 2022, nearly 4 months ago and that NTA has not responded to IPG.

The director of IPG told me that their report was to also entail recommendations on how to prevent such incidences in the future. This is their expertise.

I am confused about the brief of this investigation. Can you please clarify the terms of reference for this contract?

Yours sincerely,

Northland Toxin Awareness Group
Nora Shayeb

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Whangarei District Council


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Tēnā koe,

Thank you for contacting us. Your request has been logged under the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

We will respond to your request as soon as possible and in any case no
later than within 20 working days.  

You can also call us freephone 0800 932 463. Please quote Request No.
OIA230764 if you require any further information.

If you would like to notify us about anything further regarding this
matter, you can reply to this email.

Ngā mihi,

Whangarei District Council

--EmailIdentifier---eyJJSWQiOiI5MTM4NzQ5Zi0xMDYzLTQ4YmYtOTFiOS04YjJiNWFmZDU1ZTEiLCJIIjoiISFIQU1HR1NtbnJCcWdQU3RSa1dHdjJoIn0=---EmailIdentifier--

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From: Jeff Devine | NTA


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Tēnā koe Ms Shayeb,

I refer to your request of 7 April 2023 for information regarding the
Terms of reference for the IPG report.  Your request was referred to
council’s Roading Department, Northland Transportation Alliance, for
consideration.  They have provided the following:

“This engagement includes attending to preparation of an incident
investigation in the issue related to complaint from a member of the
public regarding an alleged event where a contractor has sprayed the feet
of a group of children.

IPG is to make recommendations on actions that could be undertaken to
avoid a reoccurrence. This may include, review of information related to
the events/s, development of a SnapChart®, determining causal factors,
determining root causes. If required; development of suggested
recommendations. Development of a full report in to the event presented in
a locked PDF.”

I hope this information is of some assistance in responding to your
request. If you believe we have not responded appropriately to your
request, you have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of
the Act, to apply to the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of
the decision.

 

Jacqui Crompton

Business Integrity Administrator | Democracy & Assurance Department

Whangarei District Council | Forum North | Private Bag 9023, Whangarei
0148 | [1]www.wdc.govt.nz

P 09 430 4200 | DDI 09 470 3042 | M 021 792 127 | E
[2][email address]

[3]Like us on Facebook

 

 

 

 

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From: Northland Toxin Awareness Group

Tena koe Jeff Devine | NTA,

at our meeting on the 11th of May, you informed us that you are planning to complete the report of the Mill Rd spraying incident investigation soon.Can you please give us a timeline?
Nga mihi,

Nora Shayeb
Northland Toxin Awareness Group

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