OIAD-1653 
17 July 2025 
 
 
Spencer Jones 
[FYI request #31349 email] 
 
 
Dear Spencer 
 
Thank you for your email of 19 June 2025 requesting the following under the Official 
Information Act 1982 (the Act): 
I request the following information concerning the Ministry for the Environment’s 
involvement in the industrial hemp (iHemp) sector: 
1.  Environmental Role and Responsibilities 
Al  documents or communications outlining MfE’s role in supporting or regulating 
industrial hemp, including but not limited to areas relating to environmental impact, 
sustainability, climate mitigation, or emissions reduction. 
2.  Interagency Communication and Duplication 
Al  internal or interagency communications (including emails, reports, minutes, or 
briefings) between MfE and the following agencies: 
•  Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), 
•  Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), 
•  Ministry of Health (Medsafe), 
that refer to shared responsibilities, overlapping functions, or duplicated regulatory 
roles related to industrial hemp policy, implementation, or oversight. 
3.  Policy and Efficiency Reviews 
Any policy papers, reviews, or briefing materials identifying concerns, risks, or 
evaluations regarding: 
•  duplicated administrative or regulatory processes across agencies, 
•  inefficiencies in interagency collaboration, 
•  environmental oversight gaps specific to the industrial hemp sector.  
 
 
 
 
 

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4.  Funding, Contracts, and Programs 
Details of any MfE-administered funding, contracts, pilot programs, or research 
initiatives directly related to industrial hemp, including projects on sustainability, 
climate-smart agriculture, or carbon sequestration through hemp cultivation. 
I am writing to notify you that the Ministry for the Environment is extending the timeframe for 
its response to your request under section 15A(1)(b) of the Act, as consultations necessary 
to make a decision on the request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be 
made within the original timeframe. 
 
We wil  now respond to your request on, if not before, 1 August 2025, which is an extension 
of 10 working days.  
 
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of my decision 
on this request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can be 
found at: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. 
 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
 
 
Lachlan Brown 
Team Leader, Ministerial Services 
Ministry for the Environment – Manatū Mō Te Taiao 
 
 
 

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