Official Information Act Request – Handling of Allegations Against MP Benjamin Doyle
Rhiannon Bond made this Official Information request to Winston Peters
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Rhiannon Bond to read a recent response and update the status.
From: Rhiannon Bond
Tēnā koe Deputy Prime Minister,
Under the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information:
1. Timeline of Events and Knowledge
- On what date and by what means did you or your office first become aware of allegations or concerns relating to MP Benjamin Doyle’s private social media activity, including any use of the Instagram handle "BibleBeltBussy"?
- When did you or your office first view or receive the photograph(s) or content that was later referenced in public statements or social media posts?
- Did you or any member of your staff engage with, or receive content from, third-party actors (e.g. lobby groups, activists, media figures) in relation to MP Doyle prior to your public comment on the matter? If so, please specify who, when, and in what capacity.
2. Actions Prior to Public Disclosure
- What steps, if any, did you or your office take to verify the accuracy or authenticity of the material prior to publishing your statement(s) about MP Doyle?
- Were the Police, Parliamentary Services, or any other government agency contacted before you made public reference to the matter? If so, please provide dates and details.
- What consideration, if any, was given to the privacy, safety, or wellbeing of MP Doyle and their child prior to your public commentary?
3. Correspondence and Records
Please provide copies of all correspondence, including but not limited to:
- Emails
- Direct messages
- Text messages
- Internal memos
- Social media messages
- Briefing notes or any other written or digital communications
…that reference or relate to MP Benjamin Doyle, the Instagram content, or any aspect of the associated media discussion, between 1 March 2024 and 7 April 2025.
This includes:
- Communications between your office and third parties (e.g. Family First, media outlets, political lobbyists, social media figures).
- Communications within your office regarding the matter.
- Drafts of any social media posts or official statements you later released on the topic.
4. Clarification of Position
- What advice, if any, did you seek or receive (legal, political, communications) before publicly commenting on MP Doyle?
- What was your intended purpose in raising these matters publicly?
Please provide this information in an accessible, electronic format. If any part of this request is likely to be refused under sections of the Act, I request that you consider whether partial release, redaction, or summary is possible under section 16 of the Act.
If clarification is needed, I am happy to assist.
From: Winston Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
Dear Correspondent
Thank you for contacting Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Racing.
The Deputy Prime Minister considers all correspondence important and
appreciates you taking the time to write.
Please note that since the Deputy Prime Minister receives a large amount
of correspondence, it is not always possible to personally reply to all
emails.
The following guidelines apply:
· Invitations and requests to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister
will be processed as soon as possible and a staff member will be in
contact with you in due course.
· Media queries will be responded to by a staff member.
· Requests for official information will be managed in accordance
with 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 Deputy Prime 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.
· If your correspondence is to the Minister as the Member of
Parliament or Party Leader of New Zealand First, this may be referred to
the New Zealand First Leader’s office.
(If your invitation or meeting request is accepted - 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
[1]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas... )
(Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated
email.)
Regards
The Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
From: Winston Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
Dear Rhiannon Bond,
Please find attached a response to your OIA Request dated 7 April 2025.
Kind Regards
Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Minister for Racing |
Minister for Rail
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
From: Rhiannon Bond
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for your response to my Official Information Act request regarding the handling of allegations made by Hon Winston Peters concerning Green MP Benjamin Doyle.
I note that your office has refused the request under section 18(e) of the Act, on the basis that no information exists because Mr Peters was not acting in his ministerial capacity when making the comments in question.
I respectfully disagree with this reasoning. Based on verified public evidence, including:
- Media reports that consistently refer to Mr Peters as “Deputy Prime Minister” when covering the statements,
- A photograph published by RNZ showing Mr Peters speaking to national media from within the Beehive complex, captioned “Minister Winston Peters,” and
- The fact that these comments were made during a time when he held senior ministerial portfolios and had not publicly distinguished his role as party leader at the time,
I believe that at least some of the requested information likely qualifies as official information under section 2 of the Act. I also believe that the response did not fully consider the possibility of partial release under section 16.
In all of the evidence I have reviewed including interviews, social media posts, and parliamentary statements, Rt Hon Winston Peters never once clarified that he was speaking solely as the leader of New Zealand First. Instead, it appears that both the media and the public reasonably understood him to be acting in a ministerial capacity. This is supported by the consistent use of his official titles in coverage by RNZ, 1News, the NZ Herald, The Spinoff, and Hansard records. Other OIA requests on this matter, also now under review, reflect the same public confusion and expectation of accountability.
For this reason, I have submitted a formal complaint to the Ombudsman for review. That complaint includes all supporting evidence and explains why I believe the refusal does not meet the standards required by the Official Information Act.
I am happy to supply the full contents of my complaint and all supporting documentation if requested.
I also wish to express that I think it is a great shame that the Deputy Prime Minister’s office appears to be attempting to exploit a technical loophole to avoid transparency on a matter that was made public and politically significant by the Minister himself. This approach undermines public trust and lets down the very people Ministers are meant to serve.
Ngā mihi nui,
Rhiannon Bond
From: Winston Peters (MIN)
Winston Peters
Dear Correspondent
Thank you for contacting Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Racing.
The Deputy Prime Minister considers all correspondence important and
appreciates you taking the time to write.
Please note that since the Deputy Prime Minister receives a large amount
of correspondence, it is not always possible to personally reply to all
emails.
The following guidelines apply:
· Invitations and requests to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister
will be processed as soon as possible and a staff member will be in
contact with you in due course.
· Media queries will be responded to by a staff member.
· Requests for official information will be managed in accordance
with 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 Deputy Prime 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.
· If your correspondence is to the Minister as the Member of
Parliament or Party Leader of New Zealand First, this may be referred to
the New Zealand First Leader’s office.
(If your invitation or meeting request is accepted - 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
[1]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas... )
(Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated
email.)
Regards
The Office of Rt Hon Winston Peters
References
Visible links
1. https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
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Rhiannon Bond left an annotation ()
I have made a formal complaint under the Official Information Act 1982 about the decision by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office to refuse my request for information about public comments made by Hon Winston Peters concerning Green MP Benjamin Doyle.
The request was declined under section 18(e), on the grounds that no official information exists because Mr Peters was speaking as party leader, not as a Minister. I believe this refusal is inappropriate based on strong evidence that Mr Peters was, in fact, acting in his official capacity as Deputy Prime Minister.
My complaint is based on five key points:
1. Ministerial Role – Mr Peters held senior Cabinet positions at the time and did not clarify he was speaking in a party-only role.
2. Ministerial Venue – He spoke to media in the Beehive, as confirmed by RNZ photo evidence and the presence of government press.
3. Media Framing – Reputable outlets (RNZ, NZ Herald, The Spinoff, 1News, Times) referred to him as “Deputy Prime Minister” or “Minister,” not party leader.
4. Governmental Context – The comments triggered police referrals, involvement by Parliamentary Security, parliamentary debate, and public calls for the Prime Minister to intervene.
5. Social Media Use – The @winstonpeters X (Twitter) account used to make the comments is regularly used for both ministerial and party content, making it subject to the OIA.
I’ve asked the Ombudsman to review whether the information qualifies as official information, whether the use of section 18(e) was appropriate, and whether section 16 (partial release) was properly considered. I’ve supplied detailed evidence, including media coverage, a verified RNZ photograph, Hansard records, and relevant OIA precedents.
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