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Stephen Prendergast 
Conservation House 
 
18-32 Manners Street 
fyi-request-30868-
Te Aro, Wellington, 6011 
[email address] 
doc.govt.nz 
 
 
Ref: OIAD-5167 
27 June 2025 
   
 
    
 
 
Tēnā koe Stephen, 
Thank you for your request to the Department of Conservation (DOC), received on 30 April 
2025, for information regarding the concession granted to Whakapapa Holdings (2024) Limited 
(WHL) to operate Whakapapa ski-field. Your request is as follows:  
“In the decision to grant the WHL Concession the decision maker refers to 
1)  The Objections and Submissions Summary Report 
2)  The Recommendation and Decision Report (RDR) and the Appendices 
This request is for those reports and all other reports or items considered by the decision 
maker with respect to this decision.” 
We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA). 
On 27 May 2025 we extended the timeframe to respond to your request to 11 July 2025 as we 
needed additional time to undertake consultation with impacted third parties on the release of 
material within scope.  
Your requests and our response 
1.  The Objections and Submissions Summary Report 
2.  The Recommendation and Decision Report (RDR) and the Appendices 
In the interests of transparency and in acknowledgement of the public interest in the WHL 
decision, DOC is publishing key materials regarding the WHL decision on the concession 
application webpage at Application for a concession by Whakapapa Holdings 2024 Limited: 
Have your say. On the day of the decision, we published the first batch of materials on our 
website - including the concession documents and have since published the Deed of Surrender, 
the Objections and Submissions Summary Report, and the RDR and its appendices. Your 
request for this report is therefore refused under 18(d) of the OIA – the information is publicly 
available. 
“… all other reports or items considered by the decision maker with respect to this decision." 
I have decided to release the materials considered by the decision maker for the WHL 
concession in part, as outlined in the Schedule of Documents at the end of this response. I have 
decided to release the relevant parts of these materials, subject to information being withheld 
under one or more of the following sections of the OIA, as applicable: 
•  personal information, under section 9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of natural persons, 
including deceased people, 
•  commercially sensitive information, under section 9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect the commercial 
position of the person who supplied the information, or who is the subject of the 
information, 

•  information provided in confidence, under section 9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect information 
where release would otherwise damage the public interest. 
•  advice still under consideration, section 9(2)(f)(iv) – to maintain the current 
constitutional conventions protecting the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers 
and officials, 
•  free and frank expression under section 9(2)(g)(i) – to maintain the effective conduct of 
public affairs, 
•  advice subject to legal privilege, under section 9(2)(h) - to maintain legal professional 
privilege, and 
•  confidential information, under section 9(2)(j) – to enable the Crown to negotiate 
without disadvantage or prejudice. 
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section 9(1) of the 
OIA and determined there are no public interests that outweigh the grounds for withholding. 
You are entitled to seek an investigation and review of my decision by writing to an 
Ombudsman as provided by section 28(3) of the OIA. 
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) and attached documents may 
be published on DOC’s website. 
 
Nāku noa, nā  
 
Stacey Wrenn 
Chief Advisor Regulatory Modernisation 
Department of Conservation 
Te Papa Atawhai 
 
 
2 
 
Document schedule 
 
Item 
Date 
Document description 
Decision 
Sections 
applied 
1 
15/04/2025 
Document: DG Memo - Covering advice for WHL 
Release in part 
9(2)(j) 
concession decision 
9(2)(b)(ii) 
9(2)(f)(iv) 
9(2)(g)(i) 
9(2)(a) 
1A 
15/04/2025 
Document: Legal advice to the Director-General - 
Withhold in full 
9(2)(h) 
WHL concession applications in respect of 
Whakapapa Ski Field 
2 
23/04/2025 
Document: Addendum to Recommendation and 
Release in part 
9(2)(j) 
Decision Report for Whakapapa Holdings Limited’s 
9(2)(b)(ii) 
concession application to operate Whakapapa ski 
9(2)(a) 
field 
2A 
16/04/2025 
Letter: TKNT to DOC 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
2B 
17/04/2025 
Letter: DOC response to TKNT 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
2C 
22/04/2025 
Document: Summary of discussions with WHL 
Release in part 
9(2)(f)(iv) 
9(2)(j) 
9(2)(b)(ii) 
3 
23/04/2025 
Email: Further advice about WHL 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
9(2)(g)(i) 
3A 
31/03/2025 
Letter: TKNT Letter to Tame Malcolm 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
9(2)(ba)(ii) 
3B 
8/04/2025 
Letter: Response to TKNT 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
3C 
14/04/2025 
Document: Meeting notes 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
9(2)(ba)(ii) 
3D 
14/04/2025 
Letter: From Tompkins-Wake 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
3E 
15/04/2025 
Email: Whakapapa Holdings Limited concession 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
application 
9(2)(ba)(ii) 
9(2)(j) 
3F 
16/04/2025 
Letter: Response to Tompkins Wake 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
3G 
4/08/2023 
Email: Correspondence with TKNT 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
3H 
14/04/2025 
Document: Advice about correspondence 
Release in part 
9(2)(a) 
9(2)(ba)(ii) 
9(2)(g)(i) 
4 
24/04/2025 
Email: RE: Further advice about WHL 
Release in part 
9(2)(j) 
9(2)(a) 
4A 
24/04/2025 
Document: Addendum 2 
Release in full 
None 
 
3