12 March 2024
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #25746 email]
Tēnā koe Chris
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00038343
Thank you for your email on 19 February 2024, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“Are you able to provide a list of the following
All of the lawyers / consultants engaged associated with Te Whata Ora trying to scrub the
internet of the taxpayers data associated with the Barry Young case
This should include but not be limited to the following - can you also include their terms of
reference that they have been engaged on
Name of the Company / Consultancy
Type of Company - Law Firm / Cyber Expert etc etc Total Cost to Date paid to the firm”
Response Health NZ has engaged two law / consultancy firms – Simpson Grierson and Clyde & Co – in
relation to this matter. They have provided a range of services, including taking steps to remove
Health NZ confidential data from the internet and prevent further unauthorised access or disclosure
of it. Approximate costs paid to date in relation to these steps is NZ$42,730 excluding GST.
The costs referred to above include legal work to obtain injunctive orders from the Employment
Relations Authority, including orders that unknown respondents permanently delete and not
publish the data or extracts from that information.
Health NZ has chosen to withhold the terms of engagement for the above law firms under sections
9(2)(b)(ii) and 9(2)(h) of the Act:
• Section 9(2)(b)(ii) – If released, this information would be likely to unreasonably prejudice
the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the
information.
• Section 9(2)(h) – In order to maintain legal professional privilege.
Health NZ has also chosen to withhold the names of the individual lawyers who have been
involved in this work under sections 9(2)(a) and 6(d) of the Act:
• Section 9(2)(a) – In order to protect their privacy. The need to protect the privacy of these
individuals is not outweighed by the public interest in the release of this information.
• Section 6(d) – Making this information available would be likely to endanger the safety of
any person.
Where information has been withheld under section 9 of the Act, I have considered the public
interest in releasing the information, namely the terms of engagement and names of lawyers
involved with this work. However, I do not consider that this public interest outweighs the harm
identified above.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[Health New Zealand request email]. If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. All requester data, including your name and
contact details, will be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Andrew Cordner
Chief Legal Counsel
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
waea pūkoro: 021 2768400 |
Īmēra: [email address]
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
