24 April 2025
DOIA25-031
John Luke
[email address] Tēnā koe John
I refer to your request received on 14 April 2025, which has been considered under
the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). You requested the following information
regarding the appointment of Sharon Menzies to the New Zealand Film Commission
(NZFC):
May I ask how you called for public nomination and on what platform you have
call for public nominations e.g. govt.jobs website. A copy of your ad as well. Also,
how many applications you have received from the public and how many you
have received from other nominating agencies such as TPK or Ministry of women
etc for your role. How many you have shortlisted and how many you have
interviewed. Also, can I request to view the appointment letter if there is one sent
to the appointee. I am happy for you to remove all the personal information.
Also, may I request the term of reference for New Zealand Film Commission and
job description for the appointed role. What's pay rate?
The appointment of Sharon Menzies was made on the expiry of the term of outgoing
member Ant Timpson. Appointments to the NZFC are made in accordance with
section 3 of the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 and the Crown Entities Act
2004.
A public call for nominations is not required under these Acts and was not conducted
for this appointment process. Therefore, neither an ad nor a position description exists
for this process and applications from the public were not received. Instead,
candidates were selected from sources such as the Manatū Taonga register of
nominations, which includes members of the public who have expressed interest in
being a Crown board member; nominations from Government nominating agencies;
and nominations from caucus and coalition party colleagues.
The appointment of Sharon Menzies was considered alongside two other
appointments made in January 2025 (that of Jon Krol and Aimee McCammon). In
total, a longlist of 23 candidates was considered, three of which were from nominating
agencies (two from Ministry for Ethnic Communities Te Tari Mātāwaka and one from
Te Pūni Kokiri Ministry for Māori Development). In total, four candidates were
interviewed for these three appointments.
The NZFC does not have Terms of Reference (ToR). As an autonomous Crown entity,
the enabling legislation sets out the purpose and functions of the organisation, and
members are appointed and operate in accordance with the Crown Entities Act.
Information on the entity's enabling legislation and fees is publicly available on our
website:
Entities overview / Te tirotiro i ngā hinonga | Manatū Taonga | Ministry for
Culture & Heritage. Information being released
Please find enclosed the following documents:
Item Date
Document Description
1
3/04/2025
Appointment letter to Sharon Menzies
I have decided to release the documents listed above, subject to information being
withheld under one or more of the following sections of the OIA, as applicable:
•
section 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section
9(1) of the OIA. I do not consider that these considerations outweigh the need to
withhold the information.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
[Ministry for Culture and Heritage request email].
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available via
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Emily Fabling
Pou Mataaho o Te Aka - Deputy Secretary, Policy, Performance & Insights
2
Document Outline
