Dear Mr Banksia,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request dated 18 July 2023 asking for information relating to the cheque presented to Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst.

We received your request on 18 July 2023. We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 15 August 2023, being 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me on (06) 349 0001 or by return email. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken into account.

Kind regards,

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Dear Mr Banksia,

 

I refer to your official information request dated 18 July 2023 asking for
information relating to the large size cheque presented by Mayor Andrew
Tripe to Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst. Please disregard our earlier
‘draft response’ that was sent in error.

 

The information you have requested is as follows.

 

* The total cost of the large cheque, presented by Whanganui Mayor Andrew
Tripe to Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, as seen in social media posts
from the official council page on Tuesday 18 July. The 'novelty' cheque
was donated to Council by Display Associates Whanganui.

* How many of these cheques do the council own/did the council order? No
others

* Any communication between council staff relating to the purchase of this
large cheque. The initial discussion regarding the donation of the cheque
was held over the phone, all subsequent correspondence regarding the
cheque is attached.

 

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]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
me on 06 349 0001 or by return email.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Hayley Fitzgerald

 

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