Biosecurity response to caulerpa seaweed
Anna Wilson made this Official Information request to Andrew Hoggard
Response to this request is delayed. By law, Andrew Hoggard should normally have responded promptly and by (details and exceptions)
From: Anna Wilson
Kia ora,
I would like to know how much has been spent on the response to caulerpa seaweed, since it was first found in New Zealand up until now, broken down by year.
I would also like to know the area of sea floor covered by caulerpa, over the same time period, broken down by year.
Thank you,
Anna Wilson
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
On behalf of Hon Andrew Hoggard Minister for Biosecurity, Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills) and Associate
Minister for the Environment, thank you for your email.
Please note this email acknowledgement is automatically generated.
Thank you for taking the time to write and please be assured that your
comments will be read by the Minister.
* Due to the high volume of enquiries at this time, it is not always
possible to personally reply to each email.
* Requests for official information (OIAs) 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 email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be
no further response to you.
* Latest information from the Beehive can be found
here: [1]https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
Thank you for the taking the time to write.
Kind regards,
Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
Minister for Biosecurity
Minister for Food Safety
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Contact: +64 4 817 6965
Email: [2][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website: [3]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[Andrew Hoggard request email]
3. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
Dear Anna,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act
request dated 20 November 2024. You have requested the following
information:
o How much has been spent on the response to caulerpa seaweed, since it
was first found in New Zealand up until now, broken down by year.
o The area of sea floor covered by caulerpa, over the same time period,
broken down by year
o
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 18 December 2024, being 20 working days after the
day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request
by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
Kind regards,
[1]A pink and Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
white emblem
with two women Minister for Biosecurity
holding flags
Description Minister for Food Safety
automatically
generated Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Email: [2][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website:
[3]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
[4]+6448176822
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information contained in this email is privileged and
confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not
disclose, copy, or make use of its contents. If received in error, you
are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your
assistance is appreciated.
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
[5]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
show quoted sections
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
Kia ora Anna
Please see attached a letter from Minister Hoggard in response to your
Official Information Act request (office reference OIA084).
Kind regards,
[1]A pink and Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
white emblem
with two women Minister for Biosecurity
holding flags
Description Minister for Food Safety
automatically
generated Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Email: [2][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website:
[3]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
[4]+6448176822
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information contained in this email is privileged and
confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not
disclose, copy, or make use of its contents. If received in error, you
are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your
assistance is appreciated.
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
[5]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN) <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 20 November 2024 1:53 PM
To: Anna Wilson <[FOI #29261 email]>; Andrew
Hoggard (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: OIA084 - Official Information request - Biosecurity response
to caulerpa seaweed
Dear Anna,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act
request dated 20 November 2024. You have requested the following
information:
· How much has been spent on the response to caulerpa seaweed,
since it was first found in New Zealand up until now, broken down by year.
· The area of sea floor covered by caulerpa, over the same time
period, broken down by year
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 18 December 2024, being 20 working days after the
day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request
by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
Kind regards,
[6]A pink and Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
white emblem
with two women Minister for Biosecurity
holding flags
Description Minister for Food Safety
automatically
generated Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Email: [7][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website:
[8]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
[9]+6448176822
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information contained in this email is privileged and
confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not
disclose, copy, or make use of its contents. If received in error, you
are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your
assistance is appreciated.
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
[10]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
show quoted sections
From: Anna Wilson
Good afternoon,
Can you please advise why it took almost a month for your office to determine that this request required transfer to MPI?
Given the transfer occurred outside the 10 working day statutory timeframe I still expect to receive a response to my request, whether from your office or from MPI, by Wednesday 18 December.
Thank you,
Anna Wilson
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
Please note this email acknowledgement is automatically generated.
On behalf of Hon Andrew Hoggard Minister for Biosecurity, Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills), and Associate
Minister for the Environment, thank you for your email.
Hon Andrew Hoggard considers all correspondence important and appreciates
you taking the time to write. Due to the high volume of enquiries, it is
not always possible to personally reply to each email.
• If your email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be no
further response to you.
• Requests for official information 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 response is diary related, you can expect a response in due
course.
• If your correspondence relates to the media, then 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,
Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
Minister for Biosecurity
Minister for Food Safety
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Contact: +64 4 817 6822
Email: [1][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website: [2]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Andrew Hoggard request email]
2. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
From: Anna Wilson
Hello,
Following up on my email from Monday, I have not yet received an acknowledgement or any correspondence from MPI. Can I expect a response from them today?
Thank you,
Anna Wilson
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
Please note this email acknowledgement is automatically generated. All
correspondence is subject to the Official Information Act.
On behalf of Hon Andrew Hoggard Minister for Biosecurity, Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills), and Associate
Minister for the Environment, thank you for your email.
Hon Andrew Hoggard considers all correspondence important and appreciates
you taking the time to write. Due to the high volume of enquiries, it is
not always possible to personally reply to each email.
• If your email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be no
further response to you.
• Requests for official information 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 response is diary related, you can expect a response in due
course.
• If your correspondence relates to the media, then 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,
Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
Minister for Biosecurity
Minister for Food Safety
Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Contact: +64 4 817 6822
Email: [1][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website: [2]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Andrew Hoggard request email]
2. http://www.beehive,govt.nz/
From: Andrew Hoggard (MIN)
Andrew Hoggard
Kia ora Anna
Thank you for your email asking about the delay to transferring your
request for information to MPI.
The Office prepared a response to your request and it was not until we
were reviewing the response that we realised the information was an
operational matter that more closely related to the functions of MPI. The
reason we transferred the request is that as an operational matter, MPI is
better placed to ensure you receive the most accurate and up-to-date
information relating to Caulerpa expenditure and coverage.
I have checked in with MPI who have confirmed they are working on your
request as a priority and anticipate having a response to you by Tuesday
24 December 2024.
I apologise for the oversight that has meant you did not receive a
response by the original due date of 18 December 2024.
Regards,
[1]A pink and Office of Hon Andrew Hoggard
white emblem
with two women Minister for Biosecurity
holding flags
Description Minister for Food Safety
automatically
generated Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills)
Associate Minister for the Environment
Email: [2][Andrew Hoggard request email] | Website:
[3]www.Beehive,govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
[4]+6448176822
Authorised by Hon Andrew Hoggard, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information contained in this email is privileged and
confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not
disclose, copy, or make use of its contents. If received in error, you
are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your
assistance is appreciated.
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
[5]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
show quoted sections
From: Anna Wilson
Good morning,
Thank you for your response. If you were already reviewing the documents to be released to me, but chose to transfer this request to be consistent in an approach to operational matters, MPI must have also had the documents and reviewed them. So why is there a delay in my response being released to me? Also what is meant by 'original due date'? If there is a 'new' due date this is certainly not legal or in keeping with the statutory deadlines of the Act.
It would be good if MPI could answer these questions given you have transferred this request to them. I have yet to even receive an acknowledgment of my request from them or any communication about a delay in the response.
They are now in breach of the Official Information Act 1982 and my response is overdue. I see no reason why there should be a delay from MPI given they had already assisted your office to prepare a response.
I would appreciate someone coming back to me on this as soon as possible.
Anna Wilson
From: Official Information Act
Kia Ora Anna,
Thank you for your email, which has been forward to MPI by Minister
Hoggard’s Office.
First, we acknowledge your request below and note that a response is being
considered, under urgency, in accordance with the requirements of the
Official Information Act 1982.
Under the sections 14 and 15 OIA when requests are transferred from
another agency, including the Minister’s Office, the 20-working day
‘clock’ restarts. The original due date of your request was 18 December
2024. However, as your request was transferred from the Minister’s Office
to MPI on 13 December, the new due date is 31 January 2024 (taking the OIA
Christmas holiday period into account).
We acknowledge that the late transfer from the Minister’s Office to MPI
has caused you inconvenience and apologise that this oversight has meant
you did not receive a response by the original due date of 18 December
2024.
We can confirm that MPI is currently working with urgency to provide you a
response by Tuesday 24 December 2024.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ngâ mihi,
Official Information Act Team
Government Services | Public Affairs
Ministry for Primary Industries | Charles Fergusson Building, 34-38 Bowen
Street | PO Box 2526 | Wellington | New Zealand
Telephone: 0800 00 83 33 | Email: [1][email address] |
Web: [2]www.mpi.govt.nz
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
From: Anna Wilson
Kia ora,
Thank you for coming back to me and acknowledging MPI's receipt of transfer.
I do not believe that your decision to 'restart the clock' is lawful nor is it in line with the guidance provided by the Ombudsman.
On Page 20 of the Ombudsman's document "The OIA for Agencies", the Office of the Ombudsman states that when requests are transferred within 10 working days that this then "effectively a new request made to that agency under the OIA (or LGOIMA) and the working day count, in terms of the maximum time limit for making a communicating a decision, begins again".
However, this provision does not apply as Minister Hoggard's office did not transfer the request to yourselves within 10 working days. Therefore there is no lawful way for MPI to 'restart the clock'. "The OIA for Agencies" states "if a request is transferred outside the maximum (or extended) time limit, this could potentially be the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman under the OA and a potential finding that the agency had acted 'contrary to law'".
If it's helpful, "The OIA for Agencies" can be found here:
https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/reso...
I'd suggest you review it because nowhere in that document does it state that it is lawful to transfer a request outside the 10 working day limit but still treat it as a new request with a new deadline.
Minister Hoggard's office could have chosen to extend the maximum time limit for transferring a request (referred to in Page 23 of The OIA for Agencies) but they did not choose to do so. And in any case, the window of time for that choice has since passed as any decision to extend the time limit for transfer must be made within 20 working days of the request first being received - a deadline that passed on 18 December.
So, there is no legal way for yourselves (MPI) to change the due date for this response except to
choose to extend the original deadline for response (18 December) in accordance with Section 15A of the Act. Though your reasons would need to be valid and fit within Section 15A(1)(b), because they certainly don't fit within Section 15A(1)(a) if Minister Hoggard's office have already stated they had the response prepared to be sent but only transferred it to be consistent in their approach to operational matters. Noting as well that you've already missed the 20 working day window in which to extend a response deadline lawfully.
I look forward to hearing from you about what course of action you will be taking.
Regards,
Anna Wilson
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Dan Moskovitz left an annotation ()
Hi Anna,
It might be worth following up why this transfer took so long to take place. The Ombudsman's guide for agencies states:
"An agency’s legal timeframe requirements for responding to requests for official information
are to...
transfer a request to another agency promptly, and no later than 10 working days, after
the request is received."
In other words, this looks illegal late transfer from Minister Hoggard. It could be worth following up on why this took so long, and potentially complaining to the Ombudsman afterwards.
Link to this