26 February 2024
M Bel
[FYI request #25344 email]
Dear M
Thank you for your Official Information Act (OIA) request, received on 7 January 2024.
You requested:
On page 2 of the MBIE Pfizer Indemnity Business Case, signed off by the then
Minister of Finance it is stated that ...
“The Minister of Finance has given an indemnity in relation to influenza vaccine
on four occasions:
o A 2016 APA with Seqirus Ltd (previously bioCSL and CSL), renewing a 2005
APA with CSL for the supply of H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine o A 2009 APA with
Baxter Healthcare Ltd for supply of pandemic flu vaccine o A 2007 contract with
Baxter Healthcare Ltd for the supply of 100,000 vaccination courses of H5N1
non-pandemic vaccine."
My request is, please provide those four documents.
On 12 February 2024, I extended the timeframe on the request by 10 working days.
I understand that fol owing a substantial search, Treasury officials were unable to find a
copy of the second document you have requested, ‘a 2005 APA with CSL for the
supply of H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine’, on their electronic records. This document is
consequently refused under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the document al eged to
contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate
it, cannot be found. However, I have included an additional document, ‘Draft Pandemic
Vaccine Risk Management – Indemnity” from 2005 that sets out additional vaccine
indemnity detail.
Information being released
Please find enclosed the fol owing documents:
Item Date
Document Description
Decision
1. 2005
Draft Pandemic Vaccine Risk
Release in ful
Management - Indemnity
2. 21 May 2007
Treasury Report T2007/759:
Release in part
H5N1 non-pandemic vaccine
purchase – provision of
indemnity for the vaccine
manufacturer
3. 1 June 2009
Deed of Indemnity between the
Release in part
Crown and Baxter Healthcare
Limited
I have decided to release the relevant parts of the documents listed above, subject to
information being withheld under one or more of the fol owing sections of the Official
Information Act, as applicable:
section 9(2)(b)(i ) - protect information where the making available of the
information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the
person who supplied or who is the subject of the information, and
section 9(2)(ba)(i ) – to protect information which is subject to an obligation of
confidence or which any person has been or could be compel ed to provide under
the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would
be likely otherwise to damage the public interest.
Information to be withheld
There are additional documents covered by your request that I have decided to
withhold in ful under the fol owing sections of the OIA, as applicable:
section 9(2)(b)(i ) - protect information where the making available of the
information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of
the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information,
section 9(2)(ba)(i ) – to protect information which is subject to an obligation of
confidence or which any person has been or could be compel ed to provide under
the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information
would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest, and
section 18(e) as the document al eged to contain the information requested does
not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found (in reference
to document 4).
Item
Date
Document Description
Decision
4.
2005
A 2005 APA with CSL for the supply of
Withhold in full
H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine
5.
2017
Deed of Agreement for Supply of Influenza
Withhold in full
Vaccine between the Crown and Seqirus
Pty Ltd (this is the document referred to in
the request as the 2016 APA)
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section
9(1) of the Official Information Act.
This reply addresses the information you requested. You have the right to ask the
Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision.
Yours sincerely
Hon Nicola Wil is
Minister of Finance
20240002
Table of contents
1.
Draft Pandemic Vaccine Risk Management - Indemnity
1
2.
Treasury Report T2007/759: H5N1 non-pandemic vaccine purchase – provision of
6
indemnity for the vaccine manufacturer
3.
Deed of Indemnity between the Crown and Baxter Healthcare Limited
8
