Dear Naenae College,

Under the Official Information Act, I request the following information:

1. How many times have drain unblocking services been called out to Naenae College to unblock sewage pipes (not storm water) in the past 4 years (2019-2023) and How much has this cost the college. Please provide this data segregated per year. The reason for such a year range is because in those years: new toilets have been installed, there have been lockdowns, and some toilets were closed for long term maintenance.

2. What was the cause of each blocked pipe instance (if known).

3. How many toilet rolls has Naenae College ordered from suppliers in the last 2 years (2021-2023) and How much has this cost the college. Please provide this data segregated per year.

I understand that your agency may perceive my following request as frivolous, vexatious and/or trivial; for obvious reasons. However, I assure you that this is a genuine request and made in good faith. I also have made attempts to minimise the amount of resources required to fulfil my request, by only requesting the absolutely necessary information to fulfil my important purpose. These attempts are beyond my obligations specified in the act. In return, I ask that you follow your obligations under Official Information Act 1982 s15. to answer "as soon as reasonably practicable," and within 20 working days.

I request that any responses to this request are via the same method used to submit this original request.

Yours faithfully,
Arie Joe

Dear Naenae College,

I am yet to receive any formal acknowledgement of my request. Please formally communicate any decisions on my request as your obligations under the Official Information Act 1982.

I feel I am being treated differently because I am a student.

Yours faithfully,

Arie Joe

Dear John Russell,

Thank you for your response. Since the previous information I was requesting was not held, I wish to amend my request.

I now request the following:
1. Invoices received within the past 4 years (2019-2023) from pipe unblocking services.
2. Invoices received within the past 2 years (2021-2023) from your restroom consumable suppliers.

I assume you would have such information, since you need to keep such 7 years for GST purposes. I also assume your latest response is not related to my other request.

Yours sincerely,

Arie

Dear John Russell,

I want to be clear that I have not withdrawn my request; I stated that I was going to withdraw my request, however, I never did. As changed my mind as I genuinely need the information. You must respond by Wednesday, September 13, 2023.

If you do not feel this request is genuine, we can contact the Ombudsman to validate my purpose confidentiality.

Yours sincerely,

Arie

Tēnā koe Mr Russell,

Thank you for your response of 13 September 2023, responding with the following information regarding “Drains and toilets”:
- Please see attached spreadsheet for a summary of all payments made to Drain Doctor NZ ltd over the last 4 years. They are the only company who attend to our drains. You will note there are 2 columns. The yellow totals are identifiable as probably clearing blockages from objects down toilets or exterior manholes. The green figures are costs occurred in general maintenance.
- Blockages can occur from normal use of toilets because school drains are typically 60-70 years old and many are cracked or in poor condition from land subsidence, heavy traffic over or other reasons. The drainage outside the maths/science block is particularly bad for instance. In this case there is a right angled bend, sagging from subsidence and cracking which means it is very easy for objects to catch and get stuck. A variety of objects other than toilet paper have been removed from drains, including lumps of concrete, hand towels, rags, vapes, dirt, gravel and fish.
- The MOE are aware of the overall drains issue compounded by the very flat site and minimal fall on the lines.
- We typically order 18 boxes x 12 rolls of toilet paper per month. This has been standard for some time

In my original request I stated “I request that any responses to this request are via the same method used to submit this original request.” This has not been followed as requested.

I accept this information as one part of the requested information in good faith. As you have not answered the specific questions in accordance with the Act as requested:
- Invoices received within the past 4 years (2019-2023) from pipe unblocking services.
- Invoices received within the past 2 years (2021-2023) from your restroom consumable suppliers.

I did not request a list of invoices, I requested the original copy of these invoices. This is important because usually cost breakdowns, etc are shown.

You have not given a list or copy of invoices received from restroom, consumable suppliers as requested. However I will withdraw this latter section of the request in good faith, as it will likely be more difficult to locate.

In the first version of my requests, you claimed all sections of my requests were ‘not available,’ I am unsure which of the two situations you were referring to in Section 18(e) of the Official Information Act: ‘does not exist’ or ‘cannot be found’ as ‘not available’ is not one.

I suspect this isn't malicious practice, but rather a general lack of understanding of the Official Information Act. The Office of Ombudsman has readily available online template letters for agencies, which if followed would resolve these issues.

As the time limit has now passed, you will now need to request an extension in accordance with Section 15A of the Official Information Act 1982.

Nāku noa, nā
Arie

Kia ora Naenae College,

I am writing to follow up on my most recent reply I sent on the 14th of September 2023, you have not yet replied. This was regarding your last response dated 13th of September 2023.
As stated in my reply (might be shown below in this email thread), while I appreciate your efforts to provide information, it appears that the response received does not align with the specific details outlined in my initial amended request. Please see my previous reply.
If there are any specific concerns or clarifications needed in relation to my request, please do not hesitate to reply. Additionally, if there are valid reasons for withholding certain information, I expect these to be clearly communicated along with the specific sections of the Act under which this decision is being made.

I trust that you will attend to this matter promptly, and I look forward to receiving the requested information in compliance with the Official Information Act 1982.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Nāku noa, nā
Arie J

Kia ora Naenae College,

I trust this message finds you in good spirits. I must, however, express my deep concern regarding the status of my request. It's now significantly overdue, and it's a situation that frankly should have been handled with more expediency.

It seems evident that there might be a resource challenge hindering your ability to fulfill your legal obligations set forth by the Official Information Act of 1982. Let me be clear, institutions must operate in full compliance with our nation's laws.

If you don’t engage in this matter by the close of this week, I will be left with no choice but to escalate it to the Office of the Ombudsman for their immediate attention. This is not the path I prefer, but I am left with little alternative.

I trust that you recognize the significance of this matter and will take swift and decisive action. Your attention to this critical issue is not only appreciated but expected.

Nāku noa, nā
Arie J