Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wel ington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
6 November 2023
Bruce
[FYI request #24205 email]
Our ref: OIA 107472
Tēnā koe Bruce
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your request to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) of 22 September 2023,
under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act). Specifically, you requested*:
I would like any documents that outline the various costs to the Ministry of Justice that
resulted from the physical occupation by protestors of the streets around Parliament in
February and March 2022.
These might include (but not be limited to):
1. contracting additional security staff, and
2. temporary relocation of Ministry employees from the Aitken Street building, and
3. costs associated with enabling the judges from the Supreme Court, the High Court
in Wellington, and the Court of Appeal to work remotely, and
4. cleaning of the exterior of the three courts, repair of any damage to the courts and
the Ministry building, and
5. counselling and support for Ministry employees and contractors after the protest
was over, and
6. the times and dates when the various courts were closed, and
7. any internal and external documents regarding the decision to do so, and
8. could you comment on whether any security footage from the various court
buildings was either provided live to NZ Police while the protest was stil in
progress, or recorded and provided to NZ Police or the IPCA at the conclusion of
the protest?
In response to question 1, please refer to Table 1 of the attached appendix.
In response to questions 2 and 3, Ministry and court staff were already capable of working
remotely prior to the protest. Therefore, no significant additional costs were incurred when
staff were required to work remotely during the protest.
In response to question 4, please refer to Table 2 of the attached appendix. There was no
repair or cleaning costs incurred by the Ministry for the National Office building.
* Please note that your request has been reformatted for ease of response.
In response to question 5, counselling services are contracted with and run by EAP Services
Ltd. As this service is confidential, the topics discussed during counselling sessions are not
tracked by the Ministry. Therefore, this part of your request is refused under section 18(g) of
the Act, as the information requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no grounds for
believing it is held by another agency subject to the Act.
In response to question 6, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Wellington High Court
continued operating remotely throughout the course of the protest, but their buildings were
closed to the public on the following dates:
• the Supreme Court closed an hour early on the afternoon of 2 March 2022 due to an
evacuation direction given by court security. The court resumed operations on 3
March and reopened to the public on 7 March 2022.
• A trial due to start on 21 February 2022 was adjourned at the Wellington High Court
because the defendant was not able to be brought in as there was no vehicular
access to the court. It remained closed to the public from 22 February 2022 and
reopened on 7 March 2022 in accordance with judicial directions.
• the Court of Appeal was closed from 14 February 2022 and reopened on 7 March
2022 in accordance with judicial directions.
In response to question 7, the month-long protest and physical occupation of the Parliament
grounds and surrounding areas affected the ability of participants, the public, judges, and
staff to get safe physical access to the Wellington High Court and Court of Appeal. It
coincided with work to implement new judicial protocols governing the operation of the courts
(including physical access) under the COVID-19 Protection Framework, and the response to
the increasing community spread of the omicron variant.
The protest evolved considerably over time and its impact on operations had to be monitored
and reassessed from day to day. That work was intertwined with the broader response to the
pandemic, and the omicron variant in particular, which reduced the availability of court
registry staff and court security officers.
As a result, the approach to supporting court operations and access, including public access,
was reviewed on a day-to-day basis with input from a number of individuals and teams
across the Ministry. To search for that information would be a significant task, particularly as
much of the information would likely touch on security settings. I am, therefore, refusing your
request for documents under section 18(f) of the Act on the grounds that the information
requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
In response to question 8, I can confirm that some CCTV footage was provided to the NZ
Police at the conclusion of the protest.
If you require any further information, please contact Media & Social Media Manager Joe
Locke at [email address].
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at: justice.govt.nz/about/official-information-act-requests/oia-responses/.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. The Ombudsman may be contacted by phone
on 0800 802 602 or by email to [email address]
Thank you for writing.
Nāku noa, nā
Kelvin Watson
Deputy Secretary, Corporate and Digital Services
Appendix
Table 1: Cost of security personnel during 2022 protest (excluding GST)
Task
Cost
Meals, car rental, and accommodation for security personnel
$8,076.72
Private security guard hire (including backfil for Court Security Officers redeployed
to Wellington)
$22,126.90
Table 2: Wellington senior courts 2022 protest clean-up costs (excluding GST)
Wel ington High Court
Cost
Clean up after protest
$6,383.74
Court of Appeal
Cost
Clean up and repairs after protest
$7,906.62
Supreme Court
Cost
Clean up and repairs after protest
$1,704.19
