Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX SX10088 | Wellington
T 04 918 8800 |
F 04 918 8820
[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
20 December 2024
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #27474 email]
Our ref: OIA 115957
Tēnā koe Chris
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 17 September 2024 to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry),
requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), information about the alleged
release of COVID-19 vaccine data by Barry Young. Specifically, you requested:
1. Initial Assessment completed by Ministry of Justice evaluating the credibility of the
data including requesting and analyzing the data. Please include who at Ministry of
Justice was tasked with this job - if an assessment has not be done why not?
2. Subject to above please outline Investigations taken / taking place and the scope
associated.
3. Please provide all correspondence by the people notified of data breach including
any and all emails/notes/memos/minutes that the personnel have been included on.
Ultimately, I want to see all of the steps Ministry of Justice have done to verify /
investigate the data which implicates numerous government agencies in crimes against
kiwis.
On 15 October 2024, we extended the time limit to respond to your request until 14
November 2024 due to the need for external consultation. On 14 November, the Ministry
decided to grant your request and advised you that a response would be provided as soon
as practicable. Thank you for your patience while the response to your request has been
prepared.
In response to parts 1 and 2, we originally intended to respond to your request exactly as it
was framed. However, we believe that you may have misunderstood the Ministry’s
involvement, and we have concluded that simply explaining the Ministry’s involvement wil be
more informative.
The Ministry has had very limited involvement in this matter. The only reason the Ministry
has been involved is because there was a small amount of coronial data from closed
coronial cases impacted by the data breach. The Ministry provides administrative support to
the Coroners Court and its involvement was in this capacity. The Ministry had no other
involvement.
In respect to part 3 of your request for correspondence, we are refusing this in full at this
time. As there is an active criminal prosecution underway, we are withholding the information
under section 6(c) of the Act, as its release would likely prejudice the maintenance of the law
and the defendant’s right to a fair trial. That may well change when the trial has concluded,
so you may wish to make a further request at that time.
If you require any further information, please contact Media & Social Media Manager Joe
Locke at
[email address].
This response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the Ministry
website at: justice.govt.nz/about/official-information-act-requests/
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to complain to the Ombudsman
under section 28(3) of the Act. The Ombudsman can be contacted by emailing
[email address] or calling 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Jacquelyn Shannon
Group Manager, Courts and Tribunals, Regional Service Delivery
