Thank you for contacting Hon. Penny Simmonds, Member of Parliament for
Invercargill, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Vocational
Education and Associate Minister for Social Development & Employment.
The Minister considers all correspondence important, however, as she
receives a large amount of correspondence, it is not always possible to
provide a personal response.
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The Office of Hon. Penny Simmonds
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Kia ora Tyler,
 
Thank you for your email of 27 June 2025 in which you submitted an
Official Information Act request, which reads as follows:
 
I’m interested about how MfE ended up providing an extra $1,000,000
towards the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme and what involvement the Minister or
staff from her office had.
 
1. When was the Minister (or representatives/staff in her office) first
asked to contribute extra money towards the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme? and
by who?
2. Was the Minister/staff in her office ever asked for an amount other
than $1,000,000 to contribute towards the scheme?
3. If the Minister was the decision maker, when did the Minister decide to
contribute an extra $1,000,000 to the scheme?
4. Please provide all communications from you/ staff in your office,
including emails, txts, app based messages, etc… relating to extra funds
for the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme 5. Please provide all communications
between you/staff in your office and Hon Todd McClay/representatives/staff
in his office regarding the Tarawera Sewerage scheme.
6. Please ensure communications in number 4 above include any
communications with Minister of Finance/her office and the Prime Ministers
Office.
7. Please ensure communications provided in number 4 above include any
communications with Rotorua Lakes Council staff or elected members or
Tarawera residents/representatives.
8. Why did the Minister decide not to make the announcement herself,
instead passing the announcement to someone without responsibility for the
funding, Rotorua MP Hon Todd McClay.
9. Please provide any briefings/memos/cabinet papers/emails/etc related to
the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme
 
Minister Simmonds is considering your request in accordance with the Act,
and you can expect a response by Friday, 25 July 2025.
 
Kind regards,
 

Office of Hon Penny Simmonds
Minister for the Environment | Minister for Vocational Education
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment
MP for Invercargill
 
P: 04 817 6815
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

Authorised by Hon Penny Simmonds, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
 
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Dear Tyler,
 
Thank you for the below OIA request. In order to continue processing your
request, we are seeking clarification on part 9: Please provide any
briefings/memos/cabinet papers/emails/etc related to the Tarawera Sewerage
Scheme.
 
Could you please let us know if your request pertains to the recent
variation, or to the lifecycle of the entire project.
 
A response by Friday 17 July would be very helpful to assist the timely
processing of your request.
 
Kind regards,
 
 

Nicola Tynan (she/her)
Private Secretary – Environment | Office of Hon Penny Simmonds
Minister for the Environment | Minister for Vocational Education
Associate Minister for Social Development | MP for Invercargill
 
[mobile number]
Email: [1][email address] Website: [2]www.beehive.govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

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Kia ora Tyler,

 

Regarding your Official Information Act request, there is a clarification
question on point 9:

 

9. Please provide any briefings/memos/cabinet papers/emails/etc related to
the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme

 

Please clarify whether your request is limited to the recent $1m variation
or is it life of the project? This project goes back to 2017.

 

Please respond to me to advise by 4.00pm on Friday, 18 July.

 

Look forward to hearing from you.

 

Ngā mihi,

Amy

 

 

Amy Stapleton (she/her)

Press Secretary | Office of Hon Penny Simmonds 

Minister for the Environment | Vocational Education

Associate Minister for Social Development & Employment

 

Mobile: +64 21 890 692  

Email: [email address]   Website:
[1]www.Beehive.govt.nz  

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand 

 
 

Authorised by Hon Penny Simmonds, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

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HI Tyler,

Thanks for providing that clarification.

You can expect a response by Friday, 25 July 2025.

Ngā mihi,
Amy

Amy Stapleton (she/her)
Press Secretary | Office of Hon Penny Simmonds 
Mobile: +64 21 890 692

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