11 April 2025
File Ref: OIAPR-1274023063-36416
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
By email: [FYI request #30228 email]
Tēnā koe,
Further Response to Request for information 2025-053
I refer to your request for information dated 17 March 2025, which was received by Greater
Wellington Regional Council (Greater Wellington) on 17 March 2025. You have requested the
following:
“
Thank you for your response.
I appreciate your finding some records regarding Chris Cosslett's employment.
However, I refer you to Tim Park’s LinkedIn public profile
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkecology/), where he lists employment as Senior Biodiversity
Coordinator at Greater Wellington Regional Council from September 2006 to June 2014 (7
years, 10 months).
Could you please recheck your records for the above employment contract and, most
importantly, his conflict of interest statements?
Additionally, while I have no current evidence of other trustees working for GWRC, the
absence of Tim Park in your initial search suggests that an alternative search method—one
that locates Tim Park's records—might also reveal employment or conflict of interest records
for others.
Lastly, regarding Chris Cosslett, if I understood correctly, you found an employment contract
but no conflict of interest statement. Should the absence of such be understood to mean no
conflicts were declared, and hence no record was kept?”
Wellington office
Upper Hutt
Masterton office
0800 496 734
PO Box 11646
PO Box 40847
PO Box 41
www.gw.govt.nz
Manners St, Wellington
1056 Fergusson Drive
Masterton 5840
[Wellington Regional Council request email]
6142
Greater Wellington’s response follows:
We have reviewed our archived employment records and can confirm that we have records for
staff named Christopher Horne and Timothy Park. Unfortunately, we did not pick this up with
the initial search due to this information being stored in an archived human resource
management information system that is no longer used and access is restricted.
The periods of an individual’s employment are considered personal information and are
specific to an individual’s employment relationship with Greater Wellington. As such, we are
withholding the periods of employment for Christopher Horne and Timothy Park under section
7(2)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (the Act) in order to
protect the privacy of natural persons.
When withholding information under section 7 of the Act, we are required to consider the public
interest in the information. In this instance, we believe that the public interest does not
outweigh our reasons for withholding the information.
We have not been able to find any information relating to conflict of interest statements,
recusals from activities or requests for funding for the period of their employment. It is therefore
necessary to refuse this aspect of you request under section 17(g) of the Act on the basis that
the information is not held by Greater Wellington and we have no grounds for believing that the
information is either held by or connected more closely with the functions of another local
authority or a department of Minister of the Crown or organisation.
For clarity, Chris Cosslett did not have an employment contract with Greater Wellington. Chris
Cosslett was engaged as a ‘supplier’ for Greater Wellington.
You have asked “
Should the absence of such be understood to mean no conflicts were
declared, and hence no record was kept?” Our search was undertaken using Chris Cosslett’s
name and was designed to pick up any document in our electronic document management
system that made reference to Chris Cosslett. As noted in our previous response, one conflict
of interest declaration was located, being the ‘no conflict’ response connected to a
procurement process. Our search did not locate any additional documents relating to conflicts
of interest and Chris Cosslett. There are a number of possible reasons no additional documents
were located, ranging from no declaration being made to a declaration having been made but
not recorded in writing. For this reason and as there is no ‘institutional memory’ of this matter,
we are unable to directly answer your question.
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If you have any concerns with the decision(s) referred to in this letter, you have the right to
request an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 27(3) of the Local
Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Julie Knauf
Kaiwhakahaere Matua Ratonga Rangapū | Group Manager, Corporate Services
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