Dear Minister of Police,

This is a request for information, made under the provisions of ss4 and 5 of the Official Information Act 1982 (“the Act”). I therefore would like the following information;

1. Any correspondence at all, be it emails, texts, or phone records with the Police Commissioner before your announcement during the week of the 12th of January that the Holiday speed tolerance was "confusing" and was to be "reviewed in time for implementation for the Easter period";and

2. Any correspondence to you, as Minister from the public stating that the messaging around the speed tolerance was "confusing". In particular, I am interested in any written record that you received this "feedback" at all, and the volume of that "feedback".

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As required by s12(1) of the Act, I am a New Zealand citizen. I will provide confirmation of this, if required. However, since all of our correspondence will be published on the FYI.org.nz site, I will only do so over the phone or email, with which you provide. This would only be for the purpose of citizenship confirmation, and nothing further related to this request.

As required by s12(3) of the Act, I shall provide reason(s) why this request should be treated as URGENT. The questions above raise important issues of accountability of the Government, its departments and agents. Any and all information provided as a result of this request could and may be published either by the writer online to a wide audience or passed onto media outlets for publication so that the public can be kept informed on important issues of transparency.

As required by s13(c) of the Act, if this request “has not been made … to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority”, it is your duty to give reasonable assistance to me to direct my request to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority.

Further to the above statutory requirement, under s14 of the Act, if the information I seek is either not held or you believe it is more closely connected with another department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or of a local authority you shall promptly, and in any case not later than 10 working days after the day on which the request is received, transfer the request to the other department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or to that local authority, and inform the person making the request accordingly.

As required under s15A of the Act, if you believe that a time extension is warranted for this request, you must under ss15A(2),(3) and (4) give notice to me of this extension within 20 working days after the day on which my request was received. In that notice, you should state; the period of the extension, give reasons for the extension and remind me of my right to complain to the Ombudsman under s28(3). Finally, the extension must be for a reasonable time, having regards to the circumstances.

As required by s18B of the Act, you must consider consulting me before refusing my request under the provisions of ss18(e) and (f) which relate to a document not being able to be found or existing or where substantial collation and research would be required for my current request.

As required by s19(a)(i), you must provide reasons if you refuse any parts of this request.

I will, if required, complain to the Ombudsman, as is my right under s28(3) of the Act, if any of the above statutory requirements on you are not complied with. Further to this, if your reply is not “as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received” as required under s15(1) of the Act, I will also complain to the Ombudsman.

This request is made through the site FYI.org.nz. All correspondence will be automatically forwarded to me through the site and published online immediately. I require, where appropriate, all electronic copies of all documents in your response. For more information on how the site works, please visit www.fyi.org.nz/help/about.

Yours faithfully,

Liam Stoneley

Dear M Woodhouse,

As noted on my request, I have asked that this request be dealt with as URGENT. It has now been 12 working days.

I look forward to a timely response.

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley

Dear M Woodhouse,

As noted on my request, I have asked that this request be dealt
with as URGENT. It has now been 16 working days.

It seems as though you have completely ignored the urgency of the matter. I look forward to comprehensive reasons why this could not be dealt with sooner.

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley

Dear M Woodhouse,

You have failed to address this OIA request within the statutory 20 working day period.

Although not required by the Act, please consider this notice of my intention to complain to the Ombudsman under s 28(3) of the Act.

You will be able to find a copy of the complaint at the below link over the coming week:

https://fyi.org.nz/request/2416-holiday-...

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley

Dear Blair Telford,

Thank you for your email.

I have checked the date again on the website link you provided and I can confirm that yesterday was the last day with which you should have replied. This is calculated from the 19th of January as I sent this request on Sunday the 18th, with the next working day being the 19th.

It seems as though, from your original response, that you claim this request was received on the 20th, which is plainly incorrect. I can only assume that you incorrectly believe that Wellington Anniversary (the 19th) is not considered a working day under the Act. Please find attached the relevant section (2) of the Act that shows your assumption is incorrect:

working day means any day of the week other than—
(a)Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Labour Day, the Sovereign's birthday, and Waitangi Day; and
(ab)if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday; and
(b)a day in the period commencing with 25 December in any year and ending with 15 January in the following year.

Therefore, I can again confirm that you have failed to abide by the Act, and I will still complain to the Ombudsman under s 28(3).

Yours sincerely,

Liam Stoneley