Cancellation of passports for "national security" since December 12 2014
Alex Harris made this Official Information request to Minister of Internal Affairs
The request was refused by Minister of Internal Affairs.
From: Alex Harris
Dear Minister of Internal Affairs,
In December 2014 the government passed the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill, granting it new powers to cancel and refuse to issue passports on the grounds of "national security". The bill was passed under urgency, suggesting an urgent need for those powers. I would like to request the following information under the OIA:
* On how many occasions since the bill came into force (on December 12 2014) has the Minister refused to issue or cancelled a passport, certificate of identity, emergency travel document or refugee travel document under the powers contained in the Schedule to the Passports Act 1992? If the answer is more than zero, I'd like a summary of how many times each clause has been used.
* On how many occasions since the bill came into force (on December 12 2014) has the Minister exercised their power under section 7 of the Schedule to the Passports Act 1992 to temporarily suspend a travel document? If the answer is more than zero, I would like to know in each case how long the suspension was for, and in how many cases the Minister was notified under s7(2) that the suspension could not be justified.
I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about
this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the
fyi.org.nz website.
With regards to s12 of the OIA, I am an NZ citizen and in NZ.
Yours faithfully,
Alex Harris
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
On behalf of Hon Peter Dunne, thank you for your correspondence.
Your comments will be noted. If you have requested a formal response, this
will be forthcoming in due course.
Thank you once again for taking the time to get in touch.
Regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
[1][Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
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From: Alex Harris
Dear P Dunne (MIN),
Addendum: for the first part of my request - basicly whether the new powers have been used - I'd also like to know how long each cancellation (if any) was for.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Harris
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
On behalf of Hon Peter Dunne, thank you for your correspondence.
Your comments will be noted. If you have requested a formal response, this
will be forthcoming in due course.
Thank you once again for taking the time to get in touch.
Regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
[1][Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
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1. mailto:[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
Dear Alex Harris,
On behalf of Hon Peter Dunne, this email is to acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (Section 12) request, dated Tuesday 3 February 2015.
You requested:
* On how many occasions since the bill came into force (on December 12 2014) has the Minister refused to issue or cancelled a passport, certificate of identity, emergency travel document or refugee travel document under the powers contained in the Schedule to the Passports Act 1992? If the answer is more than zero, I'd like a summary of how many times each clause has been used.
* On how many occasions since the bill came into force (on December 12 2014) has the Minister exercised their power under section 7 of the Schedule to the Passports Act 1992 to temporarily suspend a travel document? If the answer is more than zero, I would like to know in each case how long the suspension was for, and in how many cases the Minister was notified under s7(2) that the suspension could not be justified.
A response will be forthcoming under the provisions of the Act.
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
Minister of Internal Affairs
[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
show quoted sections
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
Dear Alex Harris,
On behalf of Hon Peter Dunne, please see below response to your Official Information Act (Section 12) request, dated Tuesday 3 February 2015.
Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) figures on lost, stolen, and passports cancelled under the security provisions of the Passports Act will be released in the DIA Annual Report, later this year. The Department will not be releasing figures on passports cancelled under security provisions more frequently for security and privacy reasons.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you have the right, under section 28 of the OIA Act 1982, to make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman can be contacted at PO Box 10152 Wellington or by phoning 0800 802 602, or via email at, [email address].
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
Minister of Internal Affairs
[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
show quoted sections
Luke Chandler left an annotation ()
Hi Alex, have you had a reply from the Ombudsman about this?
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This has gone to the Ombudsman.
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