OIAD-828
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #23935 email]
Tēnā koe Chris
Thank you for your request of 18 October 2023 under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) for
the following:
Please provide the most recent report completed by the Government and their individual
agencies that have funding in excess of $20m that report on:
•
How the agency tackles exploitation risks in their operations and supply chains
•
Specifically looking for supply chains relating to individual agencies and electric cars
•
Specifically looking for supply chains relating to individual agencies and mobile phones
•
Specifically looking for supply chains for any products the government buys in bulk
that require rare earth minerals mined in third world countries contributing to modern
slavery.
The Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) has no formal report on tackling exploitation risks in
operations and supply chains, as the majority of our spend relates to services, rather than goods. I
must therefore refuse your request under section 18(e) of the Act, as the document requested does
not exist. However, I have provided some information about ways in which the Ministry manages risk
to its operations and supply chains below.
The Ministry’s Procurement Policy includes reference to Supplier Ethics and Code of Conduct and
Office of the Auditor-General Good Practice guidance, which both touch on labour and human rights.
This Code of Conduct is also included as a Clause to comply with in the majority of contracts with
suppliers. The Ministry does not currently buy products in bulk that require rare earth minerals mined
in third world countries contributing to modern slavery. We also do not use electrical cars outside of
the Al of Government Agreement(s).
The Ministry purchases mobile phones through Spark NZ. Spark opted out of supplying mobile phones
under the AoG IT hardware agreement, which is why the Ministry does not use an AOG Agreement to
make these purchases. Instead, we purchase mobile phones which are on the Spark Digital Terms, on
an ad hoc basis through the use of Purchase Orders. The Ministry relies on the fact that Spark is an
AoG IT Hardware panellist and has passed rigorous due diligence (including that around Broader
Outcomes) for the hardware they supply under that agreement. Spark issued a Modern Slavery
Statement in 2022 and Sparks’ suppliers sign a Supplier Code of Conduct that includes Labour and
Human Rights standards. There are no specific protections in the contract terms between the Ministry
and Spark Digital for exploitation risks in the supply chains for mobile phones.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Office of the Ombudsman of my decision
to withhold information relating to this request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The
relevant details can be found on their website at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Please note that, due to the public interest in our work, the Ministry publishes responses to requests
for official information on ou
r OIA responses page shortly after the response has been sent. If you
have any queries about this, please feel free to contact our Ministerial Services team:
[email address]. Ngā mihi
Alice King
Director – Operations
Ministry for the Environment | Manatū Mō Te Taiao
