4 August 2025
James
[FYI request #31507 email]
Dear James
Official Information Act request: Advice requested and received on inquiry into the
Electoral Commission
Thank you for your email of 7 July 2025 requesting, under the Of icial Information Act 1982
(the Act), information concerning advice on whether to have an inquiry into the Electoral
Commission (the Commission) due to issues related to Manurewa Marae and the 2023
election. Specifically, you requested:
1. The date you first requested or sought advice regarding if there should be an
investigation into the Electoral Commission concerning the Manurewa marae
saga in the 2023 election.
2. Who did you seek this advice from and who has provided advice? Please list
all parties.
3. The date this advice (all advice) was provided to you or your office.
To clarify, I am only seeking dates and the providers of the advice - not the advice itself
so it wil have no impact on the issue if no decision has yet been made
For ease of reference, I have numbered your questions and wil respond to them below in the
order you have asked them.
Question 1 - The date you first requested or sought advice regarding if there should be an
investigation into the Electoral Commission concerning the Manurewa marae saga in the 2023
election.
I sought advice on matters relating to the Commission and Manurewa Marae on 19 February
2025.
Question 2 - Who did you seek this advice from and who has provided advice? Please list all
parties.
Advice was sought from officials at the Ministry of Justice.
Question 3 - The date this advice (all advice) was provided to you or your office.
Advice was provided to me on 21 February 2025.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Of ice
of the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. The Ombudsman may be contacted by
email to [email address] or by phone on 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister of Justice
