50 Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
5 September 2023
Grace Haden
[FYI request #23603 email]
REF: OIA-13189
Dear Grace
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email
of 26 July 2023 requesting the fol owing information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
By way of OIA please provide all documentation which gives a back ground to the creation of
the words Waka kotahi including consultation with the public with regards to the adoptation
of the maori name for a corown entity
Provide the legislative refences which create any legality to the words Waka Kotahi and
approvals from parliament for this creation showing who approved this and when
Please provide the costs of rebranding and trademark costs etc. associated to making Waka
Kotahi the main name as opposed to teh legal name coming first
Also provide documentation which show why the name was not tradmarked and the
consequences of any one regestering a company Waka Kotahi Ltd
I am particularly concerned that assigning undefined non legal terms to legal entities
whihc can confuse the public and potentialy opens the door for for fraudulent on the public
Please provide all documentation which show that consideration of a undefined name has
on accountability to the public .. frequently in news articles the statement is made that waka
Kotahi is doing this or that.. how can an undefined name act or hold assets .. please
provide any evidence you can that justifies the use of this undefined name
On 23 August 2023, we wrote to you to advise that we were refusing three aspects of your request,
name:
• Background to our 2019 name change
• Consultation with the public
• Rebranding costs.
We also advised you that we were extending the part of your request relating to the trademarking of
our name by 10 working days, to 6 September 2023. I am now in a position to respond to this
remaining aspect of your request.
Regarding your queries on legality and trademarks, both of our active trademark cases are available
on the New Zealand Intel ectual Property Office’s (IPONZ) Trade Mark Case search tool:
https://app.iponz.govt.nz/app/Extra/IP/TM/Qbe.aspx
As a result, I can confirm that the name Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency was trademarked in 2019.
The total cost for legal fees and IPONZ filing fees was $5,865.00 (including GST), as at September
2019.
As you point out, “New Zealand Transport Agency” is stil our legal name under the Land Transport
Management Act, and this is the name that is used when signing legal documents. Waka Kotahi
operates under a different trading name than our legal name, this is a standard practice for many
public and private organisations which have a trading name and a legal name.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to refuse
parts of this request. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
In line with Waka Kotahi policy, this response wil soon be published on our website, with personal
information removed.
If you would like to discuss this reply with Waka Kotahi, please contact Ministerial Services by email to
[NZTA request email]
Yours sincerely
Stephen Moore
Senior Manager, Channels and Standards
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