PO Box 14001
Christchurch 8544
New Zealand
Telephone (+64 3) 358 5029
christchurchairport.co.nz
6 June 2023
Caroline Ogle
Email: [FYI request #22719 email]
Tēnā koe Ms Ogle,
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 (OIA) – TWO (2) REQUESTS FOR
INFORMATION - CHRISTCHURCH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED (CIAL)
1.
We write further to our email of 9 May 2023, acknowledging receipt of your two OIA
requests of 8 May 2023 to CIAL seeking the following information:
Request 1 - Received Monday 8 May 2023 7.00pm: Response to requests
from Tarras residents to meet with CIAL
For groups, individuals or families that CIAL can identify as being from the Tarras
district or Upper Clutha between 1 May 2022 and 27 April 2023 received to the project
team directly or via [email address]
1. How many requests, offers or open invitations to meet a CIAL representative were
received
2. How many of these requests, offers or open invitations to meet were followed up
with a meeting, telephone or video call?
3. From requests, offers or open invitations made, but not followed up with a
meeting, telephone or video call, what was the largest number of requests, offers
or open invitations made from one group, individual or family over the period?
4. How many requests to meet were initiated from CIAL to groups, individuals or
families during the same period?
Request 2 - Received Monday 8 May 2023 7.03pm: Email requests from
community re Central Otago Airport
For groups, individuals or families that CIAL can identify as being from the Tarras
district or Upper Clutha between 1 May 2022 and 27 April 2023 received to the project
team directly or via [email address]
1. How many emails with requests for information or queries were received?
2. What was the average number of days to respond to these requests or queries
from the day they were sent by the requestor to the day the response addressing
the request or query was sent by CIAL?
3. What proportion of the request or queries were responded to in full?
4. Of the requests or queries not responded to in full, what was the largest number
of request or query emails not fully completed from a single group, individual or
family over the period?
2.
CIAL will provide you with the requested information where it is able. However, you
will note within this letter that it is occasionally unable to release requested
information if it would prejudice or disadvantage CIAL’s commercial activities. Before
we answer you specific queries, it may be helpful to provide some context to this.
3.
At present, CIAL is under no legal obligation to consult in relation to the
abovementioned project “the Project”. To assist public understanding of the context
of the Project and CIAL’s decisions, CIAL has committed to, and does, proactively
publish information as it completes pieces of work which is likely to be in the public
interest
to
receive
on
its
dedicated
Project
web-site
at
https://www.centralotagoairport.co.nz/.
4.
As you may be aware, CIAL is a council-controlled trading organisation that has been
specifically established to operate and manage its business as an independent
commercial undertaking for the purposes of making a profit, and to follow generally
accepted commercial practices and disciplines. CIAL is not a public body collecting
and spending public funds. It operates as a wholly commercial, standalone entity. Due
to the size and scale of those activities it is one of only three major airports in New
Zealand regulated under Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986.
5.
As an airport, CIAL has a further overriding obligation under the Airport Authorities
Act 1966, and reinforced by the Civil Aviation Act 2023, to act as a commercial
undertaking. It does so in a commercially competitive environment both domestically
and internationally, where its competitors are not under corresponding disclosure
requirements. The proposed Central Otago airport Project is a complex commercial
activity, acknowledged as being in competition with the interests of other airports
within New Zealand.
6.
Before we address each of the specific requests, we address the qualifying criteria you
have specified as applying to each of Request 1 and Request 2.
For groups, individuals or families that CIAL can identify as being from the Tarras
district or Upper Clutha between 1 May 2022 and 27 April 2023 received to the
project team directly or via [email address]
7.
We record, in addition to the email address you refer to above these information
requests may come in through a number of different sources, including:
-
other “cial.co.nz” email addresses
-
community engagement consultants engaged by CIAL
-
verbally, including by telephone, or in person at, or following, meetings and
workshops.
8.
CIAL does not collect personal data within an electronic database for the Project in the
manner in which your question contemplates. No centralised index or database of
groups, individuals or families which would contain the identifiers that would fall within
the scope of your request exists. Establishing whether this “qualifying criteria” has
been met would require CIAL to review and manually extract information across a
range of sources to determine whether a potentially relevant group, individual or
family resided within the Tarras or Upper Clutha districts.
9.
Further enquiries would inevitably be required to validate that initial assumption where
an address was not provided, or the creation of information not presently held and
within scope. To do so and to confirm that CIAL has taken all reasonable steps to
ensure the accuracy of information released would involve the diversion of personnel
for a substantial period of time.
10.
To that extent, determining the threshold issue of whether a person was subject to
Requests 1 and 2 would require both information that does not exist and information
that cannot be made available without substantial collation and research. Except as
we have responded below, your request is refused under Section 18(e) and 18(f) of
the OIA.
11.
We also note more generally, CIAL’s approach to engagement, information on which
can
be
found
at
its
dedicated
Project
web-site
at
https://www.centralotagoairport.co.nz/. CIAL is under no legal obligation to consult
in relation to the Project or otherwise publicly engage at present. To assist public
understanding of the context of the Project and CIAL's decisions, CIAL has committed
to respectfully engaging with the community and proactively publishing information
as it completes pieces of work.
12.
Notwithstanding this we now endeavour to respond to each of your specific queries in
turn. We respond as follows:
Request 1 (Response to requests from Tarras residents to meet with CIAL):
1. How many requests, offers or open invitations to meet a CIAL
representative were received.
See our response at paragraphs 7 to 10 above and para 12(2) below.
2. How many of these requests, offers or open invitations to meet were
followed up with a meeting, telephone or video call?
CIAL has met with a number of different individuals and entities, including specific
representatives of community groups, business groups, businesses, and local
authorities. A breakdown of these is provided below:
Description
1
Individuals - residents
Various
2
Individuals – Business & Various
others
3
Mana whenua
Hui with 3 Papatipu Rūnunga and their
representatives at various dates
4
Community & member Meetings with various groups
groups
5
Secondary Schools
Cromwell College, Mt Aspiring College,
Dunstan High School at various dates
6
Business Groups
Meetings with business groups at various
dates
7
Local Authorities
Central Otago District Council, Cromwell
Community Board and Christchurch City at
various dates.
8
Sector Workshops
July 2022
Attendance numbers at meetings have not been recorded and numbers used in
the table above are estimates only. References to meetings also includes those
held by Zoom, Microsoft Teams or other means during Covid-19. Except as
described in row 7 above, those were non-public meetings, including where CIAL
has responded to invitations to it to speak, including local secondary schools.
CIAL is confident that where there has been a reasonable request to meet, it has
done so in line with its approach to engagement described above and its statutory
requirements, including under the OIA.
3. From requests, offers or open invitations made, but not followed up with
a meeting, telephone or video call, what was the largest number of
requests, offers or open invitations made from one group, individual or
family over the period
See our response above.
4. How many requests to meet were initiated from CIAL to groups,
individuals or families during the same period
CIAL does not retain a centralised index or electronic database containing
information on who initiated meetings. See our response at paragraphs 7 to 10
above and para 12(2) above.
Request 2 (Email requests from community re Central Otago Airport):
1. How many emails with requests for information or queries were
received?
CIAL does not maintain a centralised index or electronic database which contains
each and every email request for information or queries in relation to the Project
in the manner contemplated. Responding to this request would require CIAL to
review and manually extract the information sought. To do so would also involve
the diversion of personnel for a substantial period of time.
2. What was the average number of days to respond to these requests or
queries from the day they were sent by the requestor to the day the
response addressing the request or query was sent by CIAL?
See our response above.
2. What proportion of the request or queries were responded to in full?
See our response above.
3. Of the requests or queries not responded to in full, what was the largest
number of request or query emails not fully completed from a single
group, individual or family over the period?
See our response above.
13.
We trust we have answered your requests for information. If you require any further
information or we have in some way misinterpreted your requests, please let us know.
14.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of the
decisions contained in this letter. Information about how to contact the Ombudsman
or make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
CIAL LEGAL TEAM
Email: [Christchurch International Airport Limited request email]
