17 March 2025
REF: OIA 87189
FYI Website
By email: [FYI request #30027 email]
Tēnā koe
Official Information Request: Te Arawhiti appointments
Thank you for your correspondence of 10 February 2025, requesting information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the OIA). You requested:
Could you please outline what due process was followed in the appointment of Daran Ponter as strategic
advisor to the Chief Executive? Was the role advertised? How many applications were received? And any
documents related to the appointment that could be released as a whole or part of it. If any document needs
to be withheld in full due to privacy or other concerns, please provide a synopsis of its contents.
The appointment, the subject of your request, is through a contract for service arrangement with Daran
Ponter (the Supplier) following a closed sourcing process. That process initially included a candidate
sourced through All of Government (AOG) suppliers, who became unavailable. The contract was
ultimately executed following the new Supplier provisions (i.e. exclusive of AOG) of the Ministry of
Justice Procurement and Contract Management Policy (the policy). Considering the requirement for
immediate support, a short-term contract was the preferred engagement method. The role was not
advertised because it is a short-term contract, e.g., less than six months.
The supplier's engagement outside of AOG was documented as an exception following the Ministry of
Justice's Procurement and Contract Management Policy. This exception was premised on the fact that
Te Arawhiti did not have the internal capacity or expertise to handle the specific items identified in the
statement of work required by the interim Tumu Whakarae ahead of the recruitment of permanent staff
in the Office of Chief Executive because of the recent redesign and restructure of Te Arawhiti.
Furthermore, this capability was required to start immediately.
The only relevant document is the Statement of Work, which is appended to this letter in response to
your request. We are withholding the procurement documentation due to privacy and other concerns
under section 5 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act to protect the privacy of natural persons. I am
satisfied that no other considerations render it desirable to make this information available in public
information.
When Te Arawhiti acknowledged receipt of your OIA request, we advised that we may proactively
release your OIA response on our website. After considering our response, we can advise that it will not
be published on our website to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of this decision by the Ombudsman. Information
about this process is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phone at 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Anaru Mill
Interim Chief Executive
Te Tari Whakatau
