Otago Rural Fire Authority under OFA
James Russell made this Official Information request to Minister of Internal Affairs
The request was partially successful.
From: James Russell
Dear Minister of Internal Affairs,
I would like to know why the Otago Rural Fire Authority is not covered by the Official Information Act.
Kind Regards
Yours faithfully,
James Russell
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: James Russell
Dear P Dunne (MIN),
FYI, I note that Otago Rural Fire Authority is responsible for ensuring the requirements of the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977, and the Forest and Rural Fires Regulations 2005
Yours sincerely,
James Russell
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 Mr Russell,
On behalf of Hon Peter Dunne, Minister of Internal Affairs, thank you for your emails dated Wednesday 25th and Friday 27th February 2015.
We can advise as follows:
Rural Fire Authorities are not subject to the Official Information Act 1982 because they are not listed in the respective Schedules of the OIA.
Should you require further information regarding the policy background you should contact the Ministry of Justice as the administrators of the Act.
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
show quoted sections
From: James Russell
Dear P Dunne (MIN),
Why are they not?
Yours sincerely,
James Russell
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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
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1. mailto:[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
Dear Mr Russell,
You will need to contact the administrators of the Act, the Ministry of Justice. You can do this through the FYI website or you could email the Minister at [email address].
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
show quoted sections
From: James Russell
Dear P Dunne (MIN),
I believe that the OFA dictates that you pass the request to them
Yours sincerely,
James Russell
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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
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1. mailto:[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
From: P Dunne (MIN)
Minister of Internal Affairs
Dear Mr Russell,
In accordance with Section 14(b)(i) of the Official Information Act, your information request is transferred to the office of the Minister of Justice, as we believe the information you are requesting is held by that office.
We understand that office will respond to you in due course, as per the provisions of the Act.
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Peter Dunne
show quoted sections
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]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Minister of Internal Affairs request email]
James Russell left an annotation ()
I have asked ORFA; they were good until they felt the heat. It was then they closed up shop.
They are funded by six, I think, territorial authorities and DOC
Have gone down the council route, figuring that ORFA is there agent; Still ongoing.
I am certain that ORFA fit the criteria. I believe that escaping the OIA is an oversight.
Have talked to Ombudsman
From: Robyn Tiller
Robyn Tiller
Private Secretary l Office of Hon Amy Adams I Minister of Justice I Minister for Courts I Minister of Broadcasting I Minister for Communications I DDI : 644 817 9910 I email: [email address]
________________________________
Alex Harris left an annotation ()
The constitution of the ORFA is in its Gazette Notice:
https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2014-a...
They're not a CCO (and so not covered by LGOIMA) because local authorities control only 2 of 7 seats. They're not explicitly scheduled in the OIA, Ombudsman's or Crown Entities Acts, and don't seem to be covered by any of the usual fall-throughs (there is a general gap for incorporated subsidiary bodies). They're probbaly not covered by the contractor clause because their powers are statutory (from the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977) not as a contractor.
Its certainly an oversight. As for why, you'd probably need to visit the National Archives.
From: Robyn Tiller
Robyn Tiller
Private Secretary l Office of Hon Amy Adams I Minister of Justice I Minister for Courts I Minister of Broadcasting I Minister for Communications I DDI : 644 817 9910 I email: [email address]
________________________________
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Oliver Lineham (FYI.org.nz volunteer) left an annotation ()
I think the answer to the question of why any given authority is not scheduled under the OIA is the same as why any law is or isn't on the books: because the law was or was not passed by parliament.
Other ways to pursue this are:
* I'm not clear on how ORFA is owned, but try using FYI to submit a request to one of the councils under the LGOIMA (not OIA) or DoC (under OIA) for the information you require. Also ask for any contracts or agreements defining their relationship with ORFA (surely they don't just hand over money without an agreement about what it's for? Who is on the board of ORFA - how are they controlled?).
* ORFA might be seen as a "contractor" providing service to the councils - in which case, any of ORFA's information that the councils are entitled to access under the contract is deemed to be held by the council, and able to be requested under s 2(6) LGOIMA.
* Write to your local MP and/or related ministers, not as an OIA request, but to lobby them to have fire authorities added to the relevant schedule of the OIA or LGOIMA.
* The Chief Ombudsman is currently reviewing OIA practices: http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/newsr... I'm not sure expansion of the Schedule is necessarily in-scope (it focuses on compliance), but you may wish to make a submission when the consultation begins (which should be soon).
* Have you tried asking ORFA for the information you want, even though they might not be subject to OIA/LGOIMA? Various non-OIAable organisations will respond as of they were (we include some on FYI). If you try this, remember it pays to be polite, avoiding accusations or antagonistic language.
I hope this helps.
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