26 February 2024
Elise Campbell
[FYI request #25578 email]
Dear Elise Campbell,
I am writing concerning your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.
I am emailing to request correspondence between yourself and the Prime
Minister's Office as wel as the Ministry of Defence, relating to decisions about
funding for UNRWA, specifically for the period from 24/01/2024 to 31/01/24. If
there are any memoranda about phone conversations held, this would be helpful,
in addition to any emails exchanged.
I am requesting this information as it appears there is a disconnect between what
has been said by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon about a potential funding
pause and what has been said by yourself. I am seeking clarity on how this
decision was made and what parties have been involved.
In order to help this office more readily respond to your request, and to avoid a
refusal of your request under section 18(f) of the OIA, I would like to propose a
rescope of your request to the following:
Correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Office of
the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office that relates
substantively to advice and decisions about funding for UNRWA, specifically for
the period from 24/01/2024 to 31/01/24.
Please can you let us know if you are ok with this rescope of your request by
midday
28 February. If we do not receive a reply from you by this time, the office will
proceed with the wording of your original request.
We wil also need to extend the time limit for responding to you by 30 working days,
to 11 April 2024. This is because consultations necessary to make a decision on
your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within
the original time frame (section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers).
2
However, if this process is completed before 11 April 2024, the response wil be
sent to you as soon as possible.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision by contacti
ng www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely,
Jamie Allen
Private Secretary (Advisory/Media)
