Dear Marlborough District Council,

I would like an extract of the annual amount spent with all suppliers for the 2023/2024 financial year.

I would like this data in an open format, csv or json formats would be suitable.

I would like the following details provided:

- Supplier Name
- Total Amount Spent (gst exclusive)

I believe this information would be readily available via an extract from your Accounts Payable system.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Riley

Dear Mr Quirk,

Thank you for your response.

To clarify, I am not requesting a breakdown of all 20,000 individual transactions, nor any sensitive line-item detail. I am simply seeking an aggregated report showing the total amount spent with each supplier for the 2023/2024 financial year — an output that is typically available from an Accounts Payable system via a standard supplier spend summary or similar report.

This type of information has been provided by numerous public sector agencies in response to similar LGOIMA and OIA requests. For example:

* Wellington City Council released its full supplier spend by year (including supplier name and total amount spent) under LGOIMA in response to a request via FYI.org.nz.
* Christchurch City Council has previously responded with aggregated supplier spend data in CSV format.
* The Ministry of Education has released aggregated supplier spend figures broken down by vendor under the Official Information Act.
* Auckland Council, through responses available on FYI.org.nz, has similarly released total supplier spend data by vendor and year.

Given these precedents, and the clarity that my request is for aggregated data (supplier name + total amount spent, excluding GST), I believe the information requested is both reasonable and in line with LGOIMA obligations.

Please advise whether this clarification resolves your concerns. Otherwise, I would appreciate specific details about the barriers to extracting aggregated supplier spend data, so that I may consider further refinement.

Ngā mihi,

Alan Riley

Dear Mr Quirk,

Thank you for your response.

I appreciate your concerns about the resources required to fulfil this request. I address these below:

Scope Clarification: My request is for an aggregated report of total spend per supplier, not individual transaction details. This type of summary is typically generated from Accounts Payable systems with a standard query, requiring minimal collation. I am not willing to limit the request to suppliers with spend above $30,000, as the full dataset is necessary for transparency and aligns with precedents where councils have released comprehensive supplier spend data.

Precedents: You requested examples of similar responses. Numerous councils, including Wellington City and Christchurch City, have provided aggregated supplier spend data for all suppliers under LGOIMA, demonstrating that such requests are routine and manageable. These responses are available on FYI.org.nz. For example, Wellington City Council released supplier names and total annual spend across three financial years (2020/21–2022/23), without limit or redaction, extracted from their financial system (see: https://fyi.org.nz/request/28802-extract...).

Barriers to Release: You noted that checking 1,700 suppliers for “issues” (e.g., confidentiality) is a barrier. Could you please specify:

- What specific issues are anticipated for aggregated supplier spend data (e.g., commercial sensitivity under LGOIMA section 7(2)(b))?
- Why cannot a standard supplier spend report from your Accounts Payable system be generated without manual review of each supplier? This information will help me understand the council’s constraints and explore refinements, if necessary, while ensuring compliance with LGOIMA’s principle of availability (section 5).

Public Interest: Releasing this data aligns with LGOIMA’s purpose of promoting transparency and accountability in public spending (section 4), which is in the public interest.

I look forward to your reply.

Ngā mihi,
Alan Riley

Very much appreciated - thanks for your work in preparing this.

Alan