WELLINGTON
The Customhouse, 1 Hinemoa Street, Wellington
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140
Phone: 04 901 4500 4555 All general enquiries phone: 0800 428 786
Email: [email address] Website: www.customs.govt.nz
19 January 2023
Ref: OIA 23-422
T Murray
By email:
[FYI request #24985 email]
Tēnā koe T Murray
Request for information under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email of 1 December 2023, to the New Zealand Customs Service
(Customs) requesting the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act):
“I would like to request the following information:
o
The date, time and location of your initial meeting with the new Minister for your
department;
o
A list of attendees at this meeting
o
The cost of any flights and accommodation for staff who reside outside of
wellington to attend this meeting
o
Any documentation provided at the meeting
o
All notes (including handwritten notes) taken at the meeting by department
staff;
o
A copy of any emails sent by department attendees or all staff communications
regarding the meeting with the new Minister.”
I have set out Customs’ responses below to each part of your request.
Questions One and Two
The date, time and location of your initial meeting with the new Minister for your
department;
A list of attendees at this meeting
In response, I can advise that the initial meeting with the new Minister of Customs, Hon Casey
Costello took place from 3.30pm to 4.00pm on 28 November 2023 at the Minister’s Office,
Parliament House. Attendees of the meeting were:
• Hon Casey Costello, Minister of Customs
• Christine Stevenson, Comptroller of Customs
• Richard Bargh, Customs’ Deputy Chief Executive Policy Legal and Strategy
• Meredith Ackrill, Private Secretary (Customs), Office of Hon Casey Costello
• Melissa Turner, Senior Private Secretary, Office of Hon Casey Costello
Question Three
The cost of any flights and accommodation for staff who reside outside of wellington
to attend this meeting
In response, I can advise that no flight or accommodation expenses were incurred by
attendees travelling from outside of Wellington for the initial meeting with the new Minister of
Customs, Hon Casey Costello. As such, this part of your request is refused under section
18(g)(i) of the Act, that the information requested is not held by Customs and there are no
grounds to believe that the information is held by another department (for itself and for a
departmental agency hosted by it or an interdepartmental executive board serviced by it) or
interdepartmental venture or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or by a local authority.
Question Four
Any documentation provided at the meeting
In response, I can advise that no documentation was provided at the initial meeting with the
new Minister of Customs, Hon Casey Costello. As such, this part of your request is refused
under section 18(e) of the Act, that the requested information does not exist, or despite
reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
Question Five
All notes (including handwritten notes) taken at the meeting by department staff;
In response, I can confirm that one handwritten note was taken by the Comptroller of Customs
at the initial meeting with the new Minister of Customs, Hon Casey Costello. This note was a
reminder to speak with the Cabinet Secretary, to ask for the inclusion of Tobacco Excise
Indexation in the agenda for the Cabinet meeting held on 6 December 2023.
Question Six
A copy of any emails sent by department attendees or all staff communications
regarding the meeting with the new Minister.
In response, I can advise that six documents have been identified as being within scope of
this part of your request. The document titles, along with Customs’ decision on their release,
are outlined in the table below and are attached as
Appendix One – Initial meeting with
Minister.
Document Title
Date
Decision on Release
Release in part, some information
withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
Meeting on tobacco excise
28 November 2023
indexation (email trail)
the Act, to protect the privacy of
natural person.
Release in part, some information
withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
Tobacco Indexation Papers
28 November 2023
(email trail)
the Act, to protect the privacy of
natural person.
WELLINGTON
The Customhouse, 1 Hinemoa Street, Wellington
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140
Phone: 04 901 4500 4555 All general enquiries phone: 0800 428 786
Email: [email address] Website: www.customs.govt.nz
Excise and Excise-equivalent
Withhold in full under section
Duties Table (Tobacco
Products Indexation)
23 November 2023
9(2)(h) of the Act, to protect legal
Amendment Order 2023 –
professional privilege.
Letter of approval
Aide Memoire: Excise and
Excise Equivalent Duties Table
(Tobacco Products Indexation) 28 November 2023 Release in full
Amendment Order 2023 dated
28 November 2023
Refused in full under section 18(d)
of the Act, that the information
Excise and Excise-equivalent
requested is publicly available
Duties Table (Tobacco
through the following li
nk: order-in-
Products Indexation)
29 November 2023
council-excise-and-excise-
Amendment Order 2023 Order
equivalent-duties-table-tobacco-
in Council
products-amendment-order-
2023.pdf (customs.govt.nz)
Cabinet Paper: Excise and
Refused in full under section 18(d)
Excise-equivalent Duties Table
of the Act, that the information
N/A
(Tobacco Products Indexation)
requested will soon be publicly
Amendment Order 2023
available.
Customs considers that on this occasion, the public interest arguments in favour of making
this information available, do not outweigh the necessity to withhold this information.
You have the right, by way of complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman under section 28(3)
of the Act, to seek an investigation and review of this decision. Information about how to make
a complaint is available online at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or you can phone 0800 802
602.
If you have any queries in regard to this response, please contact the Correspondence,
Reviews and Ministerial Servicing Team:
[email address] .
Please note that Customs proactively releases responses to Official Information Act requests
on our website. As such, we may publish this response on our website after we have sent it to
you. Your name and contact details will be removed.
Nāku noa, nā
Jamie Bamford
Deputy Chief Executive International and Governance