PO Box 14001
Christchurch 8544
New Zealand
Telephone (+64 3) 358 5029
christchurchairport.co.nz
19 September 2023
Rod Fee
Email: [FYI request #23917 email]
Tēnā koe Rod
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 (OIA) – REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION FROM
CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
1.
We refer to your recent request to the Christchurch City Council pursuant to the Official
Information Act, seeking the following information (if held by CIAL) in relation to the
proposed Central Otago airport project:
Request Received via fyi.org.nz – Tuesday, 22 August 2023, 9.34am: Official
Information Request – Briefing from Christchurch Airport to CCC
“From the confidential briefing reported in media 6-August between Christchurch City
Councillors and Christchurch International Airport Ltd please provide the following
information:
1. Information provided to the council in preparation for the meeting, during the
meeting or post meeting that refers to Tarras residents individually or in aggregate
2. Information provided to the council that refers to local businesses, groups or
societies (if a definition is required, local can be defined as within 50km of the
boundaries of CIAL land)”
2.
Pursuant to section 12(b)(ii) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987, this request was transferred in full to the Christchurch
International Airport Limited (CIAL) on 24 August 2023 to respond.
3.
CIAL will provide you with the requested information where it is able. Each OIA query
CIAL receives is assessed on a case by case basis, given the particular facts and
circumstances in play at that time. CIAL is investigating the feasibility of establishing
an airport in Central Otago and at present, CIAL is under no legal obligation to consult
in relation to the Project. In addition, CIAL is also operating in a commercially
competitive environment and this must be weighed against the considerations of
public interest. Before we address your specific queries, it may be helpful to provide
some additional context to this.
4.
CIAL is a council-controlled trading organisation that has been specifically established
to operate and manage its business as an independent commercial undertaking for
the purposes of making a profit, and to follow generally accepted commercial practices
and disciplines. CIAL is not a public body collecting and spending public funds. It
operates as a wholly commercial, standalone entity. Due to the size and scale of those
activities it is one of only three major airports in New Zealand regulated under Part 4
of the Commerce Act.
5.
As an airport CIAL has a further overriding obligation under the Airport Authorities Act
to act as a commercial undertaking. It does so in a commercially competitive
environment both domestically and internationally, where its competitors are not
under corresponding disclosure requirements. The proposed Central Otago airport
project is a complex commercial activity, acknowledged as being in competition with
the interests of other airports within New Zealand.
6.
The Project is currently in the planning and validation phase which involves a process
of obtaining and analysing information. As the owner of the Christchurch City Holdings
Limited, the majority shareholder of CIAL, the Council wishes to receive updates in
respect of the Project. As you will be aware the meeting between CIAL and
Christchurch City Councillors was a confidential publicly excluded briefing.
7.
For the reasons already outlined, the disclosure of such information to the public may
prejudice the supply of similar information which is in the public interest they receive.
Accordingly, at this time, any information provided to Christchurch City Councillors in
relation to the confidential publicly excluded briefing is withheld under Section
9(2)(ba)(i) of the Official Information Act 1982.
8.
We trust we have answered your requests for information. If you require any further
information or we have in some way misinterpreted your requests, please let us know.
9.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of the
decisions contained in this letter. Information about how to contact the Ombudsman
or make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
CIAL LEGAL TEAM
Email: [email address]