5 August 2024
File Ref: IRC-6605
James
[FYI request #27194 email]
Tēnā koe James
Thank you for your email of 9 June 2024 to Wellington City Council | Te Kaunihera o Pōneke (the
Council) requesting information regarding regarding Mayor Tory Whanau. Your request has been
considered under the Local Government Of icial Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
Please find my response below.
1. As per the Mayor’s recent media interviews, all instructions, advice, comments or suggestions
to council or's, staff or council officers from Tory Whanau or her office regarding Mayor
Whanau’s ADHD diagnosis and how meetings, obligations and communications should be
structured or set.
2. Al communications between Tory Whanau and her office and Ethan Manera or NZME
representatives regarding the Mayor’s TikTok account, being neurospicy and the organisation
of media interviews.
3. Al communications if any between the Mayor and her office and property developer Sir Mark
Dunajtschik or his representatives after the 29th of February.
4. Al communications if any, from the Mayor and her office regarding her renewing her Green
Party membership. This should include all internal communications, texts, emails, press
releases etc.
The Council has decided to grant your request in part, with some information withheld pursuant to
section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA, to protect the privacy of natural persons, and section 7(2)(f)(i ) of the
LGOIMA, to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the protection of such members,
officers, employees, and persons from improper pressure of harassment.
As per section 7(1) of the LGOIMA, I do not consider that in the circumstances of this response, the
withholding of this information is outweighed by the other considerations which render it desirable to
in the public interest to make the information available.
Additionally, some information is refused pursuant to section 17(g)(i), as the information requested is
not held by the local authority and the person dealing with the request has no grounds for believing
that the information is held by another local authority or a department or Minister of the Crown or
organisation.
The Council requires more time to finalise our response to your LGOIMA. You can expect the final
response and corresponding documents no later than
19 August 2024.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(1) of the LGOIMA, to request an
investigation and review of the Council’s decision to withhold and refuse information by the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Danika Morris-Brown
Senior Advisor Official Information
Complaints & Information Assurance
Wellington City Council
