44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
3 February 2025
James
[FYI request #29464 email]
REF: OIA-17161
Dear James
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email
of 6 December 2024 requesting information under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act).
On 24 January 2025, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) extended the 20-working-day time
limit to respond to your request as al owed for under section 15A of the Act. We are now able to
provide the information you have requested. Your specific questions, which you refined on 17 January
2025 and our responses are outlined below.
1. The total costs incurred if any for work undertaken by NZTA in relation to the recent Hikoi
in November. This should include costs from initial contact through to final execution for
the Hikoi throughout NZ.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) does not hold this information. Therefore, this part of your
request has been refused under section 18(g) of the Act.
NZTA covered the cost of temporary traffic management (TTM) in some regions however, these costs
wil not be available until mid-February 2025.
The costs of NZTA’s internal staff time are part of the staff salaries. NZTA does not require permanent
staff to record how many of their working hours are spent on a specific task or project. Therefore, the
total costs incurred by NZTA cannot be calculated.
2. Please detail what actions/role/ part NZTA had in facilitating the hikoi.
NZTA manages incidents that occur on the state highway network as a part of our regular operations
function. This includes responding to crashes, weather events (slips, floods), and activities or events,
such as the recent hikoi. Our role is to respond to ensure the safety of road users, and to minimise
disruption to journeys where possible. These functions were active during the hikoi.
The multi-agency response to the hikoi was led by NZ Police. NZTA monitored the effect of the hikoi
on state highway traffic, and deployed traffic management resources, where requested by Police, to
keep the public and hikoi participants safe. In addition, we provided travel information to the public via
our website, social media channels, and media, to help people plan their journeys around expected
disruption resulting from the hikoi moving on state highways.
At the request of NZ Police, NZTA agreed to facilitate the safe crossing of the Auckland Harbour
Bridge.
In agreement with NZ Police, NZTA developed and implemented an operations plan to keep road
users and hīkoi participants safe during this crossing and minimise disruption to road users. This plan
considered health and safety factors for participants, NZTA staff and contactors, the Auckland Harbour
Bridge asset, and road users. As part of this, safety expectations were communicated to and agreed
with the hīkoi organisers.
3. Please provide the number of staff and total time that staff worked on the hikoi.
This part of your request has been refused under section 18(g) as the information is not held.
A response team was stood up by NZTA including internal NZTA staff as well as staff working at
Wel ington Transport Al iance (WTA), the Wel ington Transport Operation Centre (WTOC), the
Auckland Transport Operation Centre (ATOC) and Auckland System Management (ASM) and public
information and communication staff. It’s important to note that for many staff in these roles
responding to, or being part of, the incident response is their business-as-usual work. It is not possible
to provide the number of total staff involved in supporting the hikoi.
The amount of time that internal NZTA staff worked on the hikoi cannot be provided as NZTA does not
hold this information. As mentioned earlier, the costs of NZTA’s internal staff time are part of the staff
salaries and cannot be calculated for a specific task or project.
4. Please provide all documentation/approvals regarding healthy and safety assessments,
insurance.
Documents in scope of your request are outlined in the document schedule appended to this letter.
Please note that some information has been withheld under the fol owing sections of the Act:
• section 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons
• section 9(2)(g)(i) – to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank
expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of an
organisation or officers and employees of any department or organisation in the course of their
duty.
5. Please provide the initial contact emails between NZTA and the Hikio organisers - this
should include introductions, best contacts moving forward, and early questions around
planning and clearly demonstrate who the NZTA was dealing/meeting with.
Document 10 provides the summary of the initial phone call and emails between NZTA and the Hikoi
organiser nominated to be a point of contact for NZTA. Personal details have been withheld under
section 9(2)(a) of the Act to protect the privacy of natural persons.
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6. Please provide any emails that that were to/from/cc'd to Eru Kapa-Kingi or any
representative from the Māori party.
This part of your request has been refused under section 18(e) of the Act as as the document al eged
to contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot
be found.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to
withhold and refuse some of the information. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA, please contact the Ministerial Services team by email
to [NZTA request email].
Yours sincerely
Andrew Clark
National Manager Maintenance & Operations
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Document Schedule:
Nr
Document
Comments
1. 06112024 Draft Hikoi PIM Plan
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act.
2. ASM, 13 Nov National Hikoi Ops Plan v1
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act.
3. ASM Operational Risk Control Plan
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act.
4. Communications Plan Hikoi 2024 ASM
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
Auckland
the Act.
5. Ops plan for National Hikoi 11112024
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act.
Free and frank expression of opinions withheld under
section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act.
6. WTA-151-REP-JM plan 2024 Hikoi plan
Released in full.
7. WTOC - Hikoi March Comms Plan -
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
November 2024
the Act.
Free and frank expression of opinions withheld under
section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act.
8. Final version 2 - 2024 11 11-15 - ATOC
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
Ops Plan - National Hikoi (2)
the Act.
9. Toitu Te Tiriti - Approved Traffic
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
Management Plan
the Act.
10. Initial emails between NZTA and Hikoi
Personal information withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
organisers
the Act.
Free and frank expression of opinions withheld under
section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act.
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