1 August 2025
File Ref: IRC-8715
Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
[FYI request #31510 email]
Kia ora Wellington City (Brooklyn) Rate Payer
I refer to your fol ow up email dated 11 July 2025, to Te Kaunihera o Pōneke | Wel ington
City Council (the Council). You have requested information regarding “
change 33 Rural Area
Design Guide and Statement of evidence of Clive Anstey” and the fol owing:
•
WCC departments are not reporting back to you these engagements,
•
No manager requested a conflict-of-interest statement from him, He didn't provide
one,
•
Or he did, but didn't expose his founding interest in a 100-hectare property in the very
heart of the rural area he designed with what appears an outcome to suit their
foundation's needs?
•
Will you continue this request, now with more determination to get to the bottom of
things, now that you have clear evidence that departments have not been
forthcoming reporting his engagement over the past 20 years?
Your request has been considered under the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
I have asked officers to re-search their files for conflicts of interest statements.
Officers have no conflict-of-interest statements for Clive Anstey regarding the 33 Rural Area
Design Guide. Despite our efforts to locate this information, it cannot be found. The Council
has refused your request under section 17(e) of the Local Government Official Information
and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) on the grounds that the document alleged to contain the
requested information does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be
found.
Regarding the Statement of Evidence link you provided in your follow up email. I refer you to
the Council’s previous response as advised by the District Planning team. I have included
below for your reference:
Mr. Anstey was contracted by the District Planning team to provide expert advice on
landscape architecture matters in relation to submissions and hearings on the Proposed
District Plan. The District Planning team has no conflict-of-interest statements for Mr.
Anstey. However, Mr. Anstey did disclose that he is a trustee of the Long Gully Bush Trust.
These records were published at the time and can be found in Mr Anstey’s evidence in
chief, rebuttal and right of reply responses for hearing stream 8 for the Proposed District
Plan.
To assist with your further follow-up request, I undertook an IT search for “Conflict of
Interest” and “Clive Anstey”. This did not reveal any other emails or documents that contain
any records for a conflict-of-interest statement from Clive Anstey. Other than what has been
noted in our earlier response.
When Mr Anstey was contracted to work with the Council to provide expert advice there
was not conflict-of-interest statements attached to his agreement. This suggests that no
declaration was made or deemed necessary at the time.
The Council can only provide you with information that is held on our systems. There can be
several reasons why a statement may not have been recorded or found. These could include:
• Employment files are only held for the duration of employment and/or up to seven
years.
• Emails of staff members that have left the organisation only remain in our system for
up to three months.
• Managers may not have considered the situation to constitute a conflict-of-interest.
You have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(1) 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 www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800
802 602.
If you require further information, please contac
t official[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Asha Harry
Official Information & Privacy
Wel ington City Council
Wellington City Council | 2 of 2
