WNHT Accountability
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer made this Official Information request to Wellington City Council
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer to read a recent response and update the status.
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Dear Wellington City Council,
A separate request has been made to you for all sums provided to the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust (WNHT) over the years, whether it be grant, operational cost support, and/or other.
Of those funds provided, please provide a list of all checks and audits performed used to validate the money provided was spent in a manner communicated to WCC, and thereby rate payers?
Please list the amounts provided for what purpose, the amounts of which were validated, the amount unvalidated (the remainder).
Essentially, as rate payers, we are particularly interested in understanding where our money went and whether there has been any accountability to date enforced as to what it was spent on.
Thank you.
From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora
Thank you for contacting the Wellington City Council Official Information
& Privacy Team. This is an automated acknowledgement of your email.
If you have submitted a new request, you will hear from us as soon as
practicable.
If your request is more a general enquiry, or for anything urgent, please
contact our Contact Centre on 04 499 4444 or email [1][email address]
For CCTV requests, please send directly to [2][email address]
Many thanks
Official Information & Privacy Team
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From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora,
Thank you for your email dated 2 June requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision as soon as possible, but no later than 1 July, being 20 working days of receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8538 (combined with WNHT: Funding provided by WCC)
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and intended for the addressee only.
If you are not the intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or make use of its contents.
If received in error you are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is appreciated.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer <[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: Monday, 2 June 2025 1:43 pm
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - WNHT Accountability
[You don't often get email from [FOI #31179 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Wellington City Council,
A separate request has been made to you for all sums provided to the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust (WNHT) over the years, whether it be grant, operational cost support, and/or other.
Of those funds provided, please provide a list of all checks and audits performed used to validate the money provided was spent in a manner communicated to WCC, and thereby rate payers?
Please list the amounts provided for what purpose, the amounts of which were validated, the amount unvalidated (the remainder).
Essentially, as rate payers, we are particularly interested in understanding where our money went and whether there has been any accountability to date enforced as to what it was spent on.
Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
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From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response for both funding and accountability request
on WNHT.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 03 June 2025 10:02
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[email address]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - WNHT: Funding provided by WCC
Kia ora,
Thank you for your email dated 2 June requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 1 July, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8538
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only.
If you are not the intended recipient, you are asked to respect that
confidentiality and not disclose, copy or make use of its contents.
If received in error you are asked to destroy this email and contact the
sender immediately. Your assistance is appreciated.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 2 June 2025 1:35 pm
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - WNHT: Funding provided by WCC
[You don't often get email from
[email address]. Learn why this is
important at [3]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Wellington City Council,
Please provide each payment made to the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(WNHT) as Grant, Capital or Operational or other Ongoing Expense.
WNHT is a private organisation.
I am aware of some years for which they petitioned and received grants
from WCC.
Please provide the full list of occasions, amounts, date, purpose this
occurred.
I am also now aware from a WNHT trustee of WCC committing Operational
funds to the trust, however do not know what purpose, amounts, or years.
Please provide the full list of occasions, amounts, date, purpose this
occurred.
Are there any other payments of any kind that have or are planned to be
made to WNHT.
If so, please provide the full list of occasions, amounts, date, purpose
this occurred.
Thank you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[email address]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
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From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Thank you for that information.
We accept that you have provided funding purpose, and the process by which accountability is determined, while not providing notes on the accounting process.
For example, there is an entry for Aerial boneseed control.
However, no resident in the area remembers any crop dusting, helicopter or drone activity taking place over that property in any prior year.
There also seems to be far more activity recorded and paid for than number of visits to the property. Unless you are paying far above market rate, and a single visit is paid for at about 7k/visit. Even 3.5k per visit would be questionable value for tax payers.
We will prepare another inquiry into asking for notes rationale and decisions as to why a *private* property - trust or not - is being funded with tax payer money, to the tube of 35k one year and over 40k another year. These are extraordinary amounts, clearly not proportionately distributed to other private properties in Wellington.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust (available here: https://www.wnht.org.nz/site/assets/file...) notes a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a standard 8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage what is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer.
Thank you for your email dated 11 July requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 8 August, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8736.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 11 July 2025 22:52
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8538 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding
provided by WCC
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(available here:
[3]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...)
notes a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a
standard 8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear
documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why
Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage what
is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems
difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many
households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response for both funding and accountability request
on WNHT.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[email address]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #31179 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
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2. http://wellington.govt.nz/
3. https://www.wnht.org.nz/site/assets/file...
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From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Tēnā koe Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Thank you for your email dated 11 July 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke |
Wellington City Council (the Council), requesting the following
information:
* As noted in our original request, we specifically asked for evidence
of accountability to confirm whether the funds disbursed were used as
intended. This evidence was not provided in your reply. We are
therefore reiterating this request, now in relation to specific line
items listed in your response:
1. 2015 Funding – $6,300 - Purpose listed: “Facilitating Public
Access to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.”
1. How was funding approved for a purpose that is evidently not
being fulfilled?
2. b) Aerial Boneseed Control – 21 May 2024, $11,500
1. We request any documented evidence that this activity took
place—such as photographs, flight logs, or third-party
monitoring reports, or maybe start with a contract with an
aerial company to include precisely this property. In the
absence of such verification, how is this expenditure
substantiated?
*
* Governance and Oversight
1. Your reply noted “site visits with Council Officers & WNHT.”
(previous response attached) Could you please clarify:
1. Were these Council Officers are independent staff, or are
any of them also trustees or members of WNHT (e.g., Tim
Park, a founding member of the trust)?
2. What governance structures are in place to ensure separation
between those who approve or monitor funding and those who may
have a vested interest in the Trust?
*
* I would appreciate clear documentation of the decision-making and
evidence that supports why Wellington City Council is effectively
paying $100 per hour to manage what is, in substance, a private
property.
Your request is being considered under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
This letter is to advise you that the Council needs to extend the due date
of your response for 5 working days, pursuant to section 14(1)(b) of the
LGOIMA, as consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are
such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made
within the original time limit.
For this reason, you can expect a response from the Council no later
than 15 August 2025.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[2][Wellington City Council request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [3][email address] | W [4]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 15 July 2025 08:59
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer.
Thank you for your email dated 11 July requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 8 August, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8736.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [5][email address] | W [6]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 11 July 2025 22:52
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8538 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding
provided by WCC
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(available here:
[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...) notes
a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a standard
8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear
documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why
Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage what
is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems
difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many
households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response for both funding and accountability request
on WNHT.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[email address]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #31179 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[13]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
I am writing to advise that I have been unable to complete the necessary
consultation within the extended timeframe due to officer unavailability.
Accordingly, I am extending the timeframe for responding to your request
under section 14(1)(b) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA), as the consultations required to make a
decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably
be made within the original time limit.
You can expect to receive a response from the Council no later than 20
August 2025.
I apologise for the delay and appreciate your patience while we work to
finalise our response.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[2][Wellington City Council request email].
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [3][email address] | W [4]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 08 August 2025 14:34
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Tēnā koe Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Thank you for your email dated 11 July 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke |
Wellington City Council (the Council), requesting the following
information:
* As noted in our original request, we specifically asked for evidence
of accountability to confirm whether the funds disbursed were used as
intended. This evidence was not provided in your reply. We are
therefore reiterating this request, now in relation to specific line
items listed in your response:
1. 2015 Funding – $6,300 - Purpose listed: “Facilitating Public
Access to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.”
1. How was funding approved for a purpose that is evidently not
being fulfilled?
2. b) Aerial Boneseed Control – 21 May 2024, $11,500
1. We request any documented evidence that this activity took
place—such as photographs, flight logs, or third-party
monitoring reports, or maybe start with a contract with an
aerial company to include precisely this property. In the
absence of such verification, how is this expenditure
substantiated?
*
* Governance and Oversight
1. Your reply noted “site visits with Council Officers & WNHT.”
(previous response attached) Could you please clarify:
1. Were these Council Officers are independent staff, or are
any of them also trustees or members of WNHT (e.g., Tim
Park, a founding member of the trust)?
2. What governance structures are in place to ensure separation
between those who approve or monitor funding and those who may
have a vested interest in the Trust?
*
* I would appreciate clear documentation of the decision-making and
evidence that supports why Wellington City Council is effectively
paying $100 per hour to manage what is, in substance, a private
property.
Your request is being considered under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
This letter is to advise you that the Council needs to extend the due date
of your response for 5 working days, pursuant to section 14(1)(b) of the
LGOIMA, as consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are
such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made
within the original time limit.
For this reason, you can expect a response from the Council no later
than 15 August 2025.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [5]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[6][Wellington City Council request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [7][email address] | W [8]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 15 July 2025 08:59
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer.
Thank you for your email dated 11 July requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 8 August, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8736.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [9][email address] | W [10]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 11 July 2025 22:52
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8538 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding
provided by WCC
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(available here:
[11]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...) notes
a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a standard
8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear
documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why
Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage what
is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems
difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many
households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response for both funding and accountability request
on WNHT.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
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you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[email address]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
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hide quoted sections
From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
IRC 8736 WHNT Accountability.pdf
1004K
Download
View as HTML
Item 1.WCC Environmental Grant Invoice 2015.pdf
91K
Download
View as HTML
Item 2.Zealandia halo site rodent monitoring report August 2016.pdf
1.8M
Download
View as HTML
Item 3.WCC Grant 2016 Invoices.pdf
3.1M
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Item 4.WCC Code of Conduct NEW 2 May 2019.pdf
226K
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Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response to your request for information.
Thank you for your patience on this request.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 15 August 2025 16:08
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
I am writing to advise that I have been unable to complete the necessary
consultation within the extended timeframe due to officer unavailability.
Accordingly, I am extending the timeframe for responding to your request
under section 14(1)(b) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA), as the consultations required to make a
decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably
be made within the original time limit.
You can expect to receive a response from the Council no later than 20
August 2025.
I apologise for the delay and appreciate your patience while we work to
finalise our response.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[4][Wellington City Council request email].
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [5][email address] | W [6]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 08 August 2025 14:34
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Tēnā koe Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Thank you for your email dated 11 July 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke |
Wellington City Council (the Council), requesting the following
information:
* As noted in our original request, we specifically asked for evidence
of accountability to confirm whether the funds disbursed were used as
intended. This evidence was not provided in your reply. We are
therefore reiterating this request, now in relation to specific line
items listed in your response:
1. 2015 Funding – $6,300 - Purpose listed: “Facilitating Public
Access to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.”
1. How was funding approved for a purpose that is evidently not
being fulfilled?
2. b) Aerial Boneseed Control – 21 May 2024, $11,500
1. We request any documented evidence that this activity took
place—such as photographs, flight logs, or third-party
monitoring reports, or maybe start with a contract with an
aerial company to include precisely this property. In the
absence of such verification, how is this expenditure
substantiated?
*
* Governance and Oversight
1. Your reply noted “site visits with Council Officers & WNHT.”
(previous response attached) Could you please clarify:
1. Were these Council Officers are independent staff, or are
any of them also trustees or members of WNHT (e.g., Tim
Park, a founding member of the trust)?
2. What governance structures are in place to ensure separation
between those who approve or monitor funding and those who may
have a vested interest in the Trust?
*
* I would appreciate clear documentation of the decision-making and
evidence that supports why Wellington City Council is effectively
paying $100 per hour to manage what is, in substance, a private
property.
Your request is being considered under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
This letter is to advise you that the Council needs to extend the due date
of your response for 5 working days, pursuant to section 14(1)(b) of the
LGOIMA, as consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are
such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made
within the original time limit.
For this reason, you can expect a response from the Council no later
than 15 August 2025.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at [7]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[8][Wellington City Council request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [9][email address] | W [10]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 15 July 2025 08:59
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer.
Thank you for your email dated 11 July requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 8 August, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8736.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [11][email address] | W [12]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 11 July 2025 22:52
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8538 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding
provided by WCC
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(available here:
[13]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...) notes
a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a standard
8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear
documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why
Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage what
is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems
difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many
households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response for both funding and accountability request
on WNHT.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[email address]
Is [Wellington City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Wellington City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
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[19]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
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hide quoted sections
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Dear BUS: Official Information,
A note in passing: Asha, I have not yet expressed my admiration for the effort and professionalism you show in repeatedly answering these FYIs. It is thankless work, and yet you do an excellent job.
I am also impressed that WCC appears to have an effective system to track grants, able to explain a grant from 2016 tied to invoices received.
That said, I suspect those you request information from are not being forthcoming.
As background, although the link below talks of 2023, the title page of the report says December 2015:https://www.wnht.org.nz/site/assets/file...
On page 31 it states:“Until such time as the main route alongside Silver Stream is made suitable, access to the area will not be made available to the general public.”
Yet in 2015 funding of $6,300 was granted for “Facilitating Public Access to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.” Looked at another way, we are now in 2023 and the plan still appears to be in effect according to their website. The activity has never been accomplished, yet WCC was charged and paid.
Looking at your electronic system, they state all objectives were met, but mention only the monitoring, not the public access. The monitoring itself was for one night. $6,300, or $2,000 per tunnel? This stretches credibility.
On the matter of 2024 funding, I requested invoices and flight plan for the aerial supposed drone flight. No invoices of financial statements were provided. Instead, they provided a map of Mākara, 9.87 km from Long Gully Natural Trust.
Mākara is not included in their Trust.
Further, using Google Earth’s Historical Imagery, the artefact they submitted matches 2021, not 2024.
In plain terms, WNHT is billing council and being paid for non-flights over their property, and when queried, provided a map of a different location. It is not credible that a reputable aerial spray company billed in 2024 before flight, WNHT paid it, WCC reimbursed WNHT, but the flight has not yet occurred and when it does, different logs and flight paths will be produced. Would you find that credible?
For reference, the Google Earth link verifying the image date is here:https://earth.google.com/web/@-41.222599...
As for points 3 and 4, while I thank you for providing the background of why they get funded, and that they are monitored by someone else than WCC employees who are also WNHT trustees, however this does not amount to an audit trail – and in light of the above issues spanning a decade, it calls into question the efficacy of the process being applied.
This is the third time I ask of WCC to get WNHT be provide a clear and credible accounting of the ratepayer funds they have spent, as the above appears to be exposing close to a decade of deceit, from the first bill in 2016 through to 2024.
I would also like assurance that WCC itself that it is taking this seriously, and is making changes to temporarily distance both themselves and ratepayer funds from what appears, at present, to be an untrustworthy trust, until there is full and trustable accountability for their spending.
It also raises the further question: what other Trusts are this Trust's trustees involved in, that also receive WCC and/or GWRC funding?
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Ratepayer
From: BUS: Official Information
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Thank you for your email dated 18 August 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke |
Wellington City Council (the Council) requesting the following
information:
· What other Trusts are this Trust's trustees involved in, that
also receive WCC and/or GWRC funding?
Your request has been considered under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
The Council can confirm that one Council employee is a trustee of the
Wellington Natural Heritage Trust (WNHT). This employee has declared
conflicts of interest in relation to other organisations that receive
Council funding. They are not involved in any funding decisions for these
organisations and have appropriately declared their interests.
In regards to this employee the Council is withholding further information
under the following provisions:
* Section 53(b)(i) of the Privacy Act 2020, as releasing the information
would involve the unwarranted disclosure of another individual’s
affairs.
* Section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA, to protect the privacy of natural
persons.
The Council’s Parks, Sport and Recreation team does not hold information
in a format that enables easy identification of trustee associations.
Officers are unable to recall whether trustees of the WNHT are associated
with other organisations that may have received Council funding.
Accordingly, this part of your request is refused under section 17(g)(i)
of the LGOIMA, as the information is not held by the Council and there are
no grounds to believe it is held by another local authority, department,
Minister of the Crown, or organisation.
You are welcome to look at our [1]funding decisions which is publicly
available to see what organisation receive funding. Alternative if you
have a specific trust name that we can search on your behalf please let us
know.
The Council can not comment on Greater Wellington Regional Council
funding. We are happy to transfer this part of the request to them, if you
can please confirm if you would like us to do this for you.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision by the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[3][Wellington City Council request email].
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [4][email address] | W [5]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [6][email address] | W [7]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 18 August 2025 19:54
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Dear BUS: Official Information,
A note in passing: Asha, I have not yet expressed my admiration for the
effort and professionalism you show in repeatedly answering these FYIs. It
is thankless work, and yet you do an excellent job.
I am also impressed that WCC appears to have an effective system to track
grants, able to explain a grant from 2016 tied to invoices received.
That said, I suspect those you request information from are not being
forthcoming.
As background, although the link below talks of 2023, the title page of
the report says December
2015:https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
On page 31 it states:“Until such time as the main route alongside Silver
Stream is made suitable, access to the area will not be made available to
the general public.”
Yet in 2015 funding of $6,300 was granted for “Facilitating Public Access
to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.” Looked at another
way, we are now in 2023 and the plan still appears to be in effect
according to their website. The activity has never been accomplished, yet
WCC was charged and paid.
Looking at your electronic system, they state all objectives were met, but
mention only the monitoring, not the public access. The monitoring itself
was for one night. $6,300, or $2,000 per tunnel? This stretches
credibility.
On the matter of 2024 funding, I requested invoices and flight plan for
the aerial supposed drone flight. No invoices of financial statements were
provided. Instead, they provided a map of Mākara, 9.87 km from Long Gully
Natural Trust.
Mākara is not included in their Trust.
Further, using Google Earth’s Historical Imagery, the artefact they
submitted matches 2021, not 2024.
In plain terms, WNHT is billing council and being paid for non-flights
over their property, and when queried, provided a map of a different
location. It is not credible that a reputable aerial spray company billed
in 2024 before flight, WNHT paid it, WCC reimbursed WNHT, but the flight
has not yet occurred and when it does, different logs and flight paths
will be produced. Would you find that credible?
For reference, the Google Earth link verifying the image date is
here:https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
As for points 3 and 4, while I thank you for providing the background of
why they get funded, and that they are monitored by someone else than WCC
employees who are also WNHT trustees, however this does not amount to an
audit trail – and in light of the above issues spanning a decade, it calls
into question the efficacy of the process being applied.
This is the third time I ask of WCC to get WNHT be provide a clear and
credible accounting of the ratepayer funds they have spent, as the above
appears to be exposing close to a decade of deceit, from the first bill in
2016 through to 2024.
I would also like assurance that WCC itself that it is taking this
seriously, and is making changes to temporarily distance both themselves
and ratepayer funds from what appears, at present, to be an untrustworthy
trust, until there is full and trustable accountability for their
spending.
It also raises the further question: what other Trusts are this Trust's
trustees involved in, that also receive WCC and/or GWRC funding?
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Ratepayer
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Please see attached response to your request for information.
Thank you for your patience on this request.
Kind Regards
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [1][email address] | W [2]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 08 August 2025 14:34
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Tēnā koe Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
Thank you for your email dated 11 July 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke |
Wellington City Council (the Council), requesting the following
information:
* As noted in our original request, we specifically asked for evidence
of accountability to confirm whether the funds disbursed were used as
intended. This evidence was not provided in your reply. We are
therefore reiterating this request, now in relation to specific line
items listed in your response:
1. 2015 Funding – $6,300 - Purpose listed: “Facilitating Public
Access to Long Gully Bush Reserve & small mammal monitoring.”
1. How was funding approved for a purpose that is evidently not
being fulfilled?
2. b) Aerial Boneseed Control – 21 May 2024, $11,500
1. We request any documented evidence that this activity took
place—such as photographs, flight logs, or third-party
monitoring reports, or maybe start with a contract with an
aerial company to include precisely this property. In the
absence of such verification, how is this expenditure
substantiated?
*
* Governance and Oversight
1. Your reply noted “site visits with Council Officers & WNHT.”
(previous response attached) Could you please clarify:
1. Were these Council Officers are independent staff, or are
any of them also trustees or members of WNHT (e.g., Tim
Park, a founding member of the trust)?
2. What governance structures are in place to ensure separation
between those who approve or monitor funding and those who may
have a vested interest in the Trust?
*
* I would appreciate clear documentation of the decision-making and
evidence that supports why Wellington City Council is effectively
paying $100 per hour to manage what is, in substance, a private
property.
Your request is being considered under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
This letter is to advise you that the Council needs to extend the due
date
of your response for 5 working days, pursuant to section 14(1)(b) of the
LGOIMA, as consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are
such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made
within the original time limit.
For this reason, you can expect a response from the Council no later
than 15 August 2025.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 27(3) of the
LGOIMA,
to request an investigation and review of the Council’s decision to
extend
by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at
[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
freephone 0800 802 602.
If you require further information, please contact
[8][Wellington City Council request email].
Nāku noa, nā
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [9][email address] | W [10]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: 15 July 2025 08:59
To: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Cc: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: IRC-8736 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding &
Accountability
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer.
Thank you for your email dated 11 July requesting information.
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision
as soon as possible, but no later than 8 August, being 20 working days of
receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-8736.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
Official Information & Privacy Team
Email: [Wellington City Council request email]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
Asha Harry
Official Information | Wellington City Council
E [11][email address] | W [12]Wellington.govt.nz
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential
and
intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or
make use of its contents. If received in error, you are asked to destroy
this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is
appreciated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
<[FOI #31179 email]>
Sent: 11 July 2025 22:52
To: BUS: Official Information <[email address]>
Subject: Re: IRC-8538 - Official Information request - WNHT: Funding
provided by WCC
Dear BUS: Official Information,
Addendum
I would like to add the following to my earlier request.
The current action plan from the Wellington Natural Heritage Trust
(available here:
[13]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...) notes
a total of 53 days of contributed activity per year. Assuming a standard
8-hour workday, this equates to approximately 424 hours.
As a ratepayer—along with many others—I would appreciate clear
documentation of the decision-making and evidence that supports why
Wellington City Council is effectively paying $100 per hour to manage
what
is, in substance, a private property. This level of expenditure seems
difficult to justify in the current economic climate, where many
households are under pressure.
Yours sincerely,
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
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References
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3. mailto:[Wellington City Council request email]
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