Dear Te Ringa Mangu,

 

We have treated your request as a request under the Official Information
Act 1982 addressed to the Board of Trustees Whangarei Boys High School.

 

Our responses to your requests are as follows:

 

Requests (1) and (3):

At present there is an investigation by WorkSafe and an inquiry by the
Coroner ongoing arising from the tragic events that occurred at Abbey
Caves on 9 May 2023. The investigation and the inquiry will cover events
that occurred before the 9 May trip as well as what happened on the day
itself.

 

This is why we are unable to provide this information at this time.
Whangarei Boys' High School has good reason to withhold information where
the making available of the information would likely prejudice the
WorkSafe investigation and/or the Coronial inquiry (s6(c), OIA). 

 

In addition, it is necessary to withhold some of the information
responsive to this request  in order to protect the privacy of individuals
(s9(2)(a), OIA).

 

Request (2):

The majority of the documents that you requested have been withheld on the
same basis as Requests (1) and (3).  However, there are a number of
documents that are attached that fall within the scope of your request. 
Redactions have been made to a number of those documents in order to
protect the privacy of individuals (s9(2)(a), OIA).  We have interpreted
documents that comprise messages of concern or else sympathy and support
for the school at a difficult time (but which contain no details regarding
the trip itself) to be out of scope of your request.

 

In addition, we have withheld a number of documents on the following
grounds:

o to protect the privacy of individuals (s9(2)(a), OIA);
o to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs (s9(2)(g), OIA);
and
o to maintain legal professional privilege (s9(2)(h), OIA).

 

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [1]https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

Ngā mihi 

Karen Gilbert-Smith

Principal

Whangārei Boys' High School

245 Western Hills Drive, The Avenues, Whangārei |  PO Box 5034, Whangārei
0140

P 09 430 4173  |  MOB 0272024211  |  [2]wbhs.school.nz

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References

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Apologies. Attachments included. 

Ngā mihi 

Karen Gilbert-Smith

Principal

Whangārei Boys' High School

245 Western Hills Drive, The Avenues, Whangārei |  PO Box 5034, Whangārei
0140

P 09 430 4173  |  MOB 0272024211  |  [1]wbhs.school.nz

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
CAUTION: This e-mail message and accompanying data may contain information
that is confidential and subject to privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or
copying of this message or data is prohibited. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all
material pertaining to this e-mail. Whangarei Boys’ High School will not
accept liability for any loss or damage caused by using any material or
attachments contained in this message. While every best practice has been
taken, no warranty is made that this material is free from computer virus
or other defect. Whangarei Boys’ High School’s entire liability will be
limited to resupplying the material.

References

Visible links
1. http://wbhs.school.nz/