Te Tari Taiwhenua
Internal Affairs
1 September 2023
Ministerial Services
45 Pipitea St, Thorndon
PO Box 805, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Website: www.dia.govt.nz
Cam Slater
fyi-request-23617-
[email address]
Dear Cam Slater
Official Information Act request (OIA 2324-0080)
I refer to your request for information dated 27 July 2023 made under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act) to the Department of the Prime Minster and Cabinet. Your request was
then transferred to the Department of Internal Affairs (the Department). You requested the
following information:
I request the following:
-
any recordings made on any device by Tom Peoples including recordings made of
ministers, MPs, staffers and members of the public in the months of April and May 2023.
-
any details of any disciplinary action involving these recordings
-
copies of any complaints by staff or politicians about Tom Peoples recordings and the
responses to those complaints.
For the avoidance of doubt this request covers actual recording files in whatever format,
ALL correspondence, diary notes, aide memoires or any documentation including written
and electronic correspondence including emails, as well as phone, txt, and other messing
apps including but not limited to Signal and Whatsapp.
Please acknowledge receipt of this request, and please provide electronic copies of each
file covered by this request.
Response to your request
The Department can confirm that in the months of April and May 2023, there are two
recordings that fall within the scope of your request. These recordings and any other
information associated with the recordings are withheld in full under section 9(2)(a) of the
Act, as the withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural
persons.
As is required by section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered where necessary whether the
grounds for withholding information under section 9(2) as set out in this response letter are
outweighed by other considerations which would make it desirable, in the public interest, to
make that information available. In this instance, I do not consider that to be the case.
We may publish this OIA response on www.dia.govt.nz (with your personal details having been
removed). Publishing responses to OIA requests increases the availability of information to
the public and is consistent with the purpose of the Act to enable effective participation in the
making and administration of laws and policies, and to promote the accountability of Ministers
and officials.
If you have any concerns with the information in this response, you have a right to request an
investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. Information on
how to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Briget Ridden
General Manager - Ministerial Services
Te Haumi - Enterprise Partnerships
Te Tari Taiwhenua - The Department of Internal Affairs
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