Thank you for contacting Hon Simeon Brown MP, Minister of Transport,
Minister of Local Government, Minister for Energy and Minister for
Auckland.

Hon Simeon Brown considers all correspondence important and appreciates
you taking the time to write. As the Minister receives a large amount of
correspondence, it is not always possible to personally reply to all
emails.

* If your correspondence is related to a constituent matter, please get in
touch with the Minister’s electorate team by email:
[email address] or by calling one of his team on 09
572-0000
* If your correspondence is diary related, requests will be processed
accordingly and we will be back in contact with you
* If your correspondence requires a response, you can expect a response in
due course
* If your correspondence relates to another Minister's portfolio, your
correspondence will be transferred to the appropriate Minister
* If your correspondence expresses an opinion, it will be noted
* If you have made a request for official information, this will be
managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act
1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or Agency
* If your request relates to media, it will be referred to the media team
* Latest information from the Beehive can be found here:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
Thank you for the taking the time to write.

Kind regards,
[cid:image001.jpg@01DA43A9.6D8F41D0]
Office of Hon Simeon Brown MP
Minister of Transport, Minister of Local Government, Minister for Energy,
Minister for Auckland
Email: [Simeon Brown request email]
Website: www.Beehive.govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

Authorised by Hon Simeon Brown MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or
constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list:
date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...

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Dear James,

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request, received on 19/07/2024, in which you requested the following information:

In the Select Committee Report for the "Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill" (the Bill) the Committee report states:

"We are appalled that the Minister saw fit to write to this committee and in substance (if not in form) direct the committee to cease its consideration." in regards to "a letter from the Minister of Local Government dated 20 December 2023".

Further, it noted:

"We are deeply concerned at the precedent that the decision of this committee not to proceed to a full consideration of the bill sets."

Please provide the following:

1) The letter sent to the Justice Committee dated 20 December 2023.
2) All responses received by the Minister in reply to the letter.
3) All briefings, meetings, minutes, notes, and emails, etc. as it relates to the letter. This includes but is not limited to, correspondence with the Minister and others when creating the letter, discussions around the language used, and any anticipated responses or opinions. This also includes communication with the Minister about the letter and its contents after it was sent to the Committee.

Please answer the following:

1) Did the Minister consider the legality of directing the Committee to cease consideration of the Bill (or the content of the letter)? If so, what was the conclusion?
2) Did the Minister consider any precedent for directing the Committee to cease consideration of the Bill (or the content of the letter)? If so, what was the conclusion?
3) Since the Minister was made aware of the Committee report, has the Minister considered the precedent the letter may set? If so, what was the conclusion?

Please provide this information in an accessible, searchable format without a watermark.
If any information needs to be withheld from a document, please ensure this is not done in a way that makes the surrounding content (such as other content on the same page) inaccessible.
Please provide both the reason for removal of information as well as the grounds in support of that reason as outlined by section 17(2)(b) of the Act.
I am a New Zealand citizen.

Your request will be answered within the provisions of the Official Information Act.

Kind regards,
Office of Hon Simeon Brown

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Kia ora James,

Further to your request, we have identified that the information you have requested relating to the below is not held by Hon Simeon Brown or his office. Therefore, we have decided to transfer your request to the Department of Internal Affairs as per section 14(b)(i) of the Official Information Act 1982.

3) All briefings, meetings, minutes, notes, and emails, etc. as it relates to the letter. This includes but is not limited to, correspondence with the Minister and others when creating the letter, discussions around the language used, and any anticipated responses or opinions. This also includes communication with the Minister about the letter and its contents after it was sent to the Committee.

Ngâ mihi

Allie Chau
Private Secretary (Local Government) | Office of Hon Simeon Brown
Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Transport, Minister for Auckland, Member of Parliament for Pakuranga

Website: www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

Authorised by Hon Simeon Brown, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful.
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’ portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...

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Tçnâ koe James,

Thank you for your OIA request partially transferred to the Department on 31 July 2024.

The Department will provide its response to your request as soon as practicable and within twenty working days. The 20th working day is 28 August 2024.

Ngâ mihi,

Logan

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Kia ora James,

 

Please see attached response to your request under the Official
Information Act 1982 from Hon Simeon Brown. As notified earlier, the third
part of the first request has been transferred to the Department of
Internal Affairs as they are the holders of the relevant information.

 

Ngâ mihi nui

 

Office of Hon Simeon Brown

Minister for Energy, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Transport,
Minister for Auckland, Member of Parliament for Pakuranga
 

Website: [1]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Authorised by Hon Simeon Brown, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or
constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list:
date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the
meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the
Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will
be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet
with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be
released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a
private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the
provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
[2]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...

 

 

 

 

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Tçnâ koe James,

Please find attached the Department's response and combined documents for your request.

Ngâ mihi,

Logan

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