Asset Transfers from Local Councils to Crown-Owned Funds
Joshua Riley made this Official Information request to Nicola Willis
Currently waiting for a response from Nicola Willis, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: Joshua Riley
22 July 2025
To: The Honourable Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance
This is a request for official information under the Official Information Act 1982.
This request concerns the activities of Ngāpuhi Investment Fund Limited (trading as Tupu Tonu) and other similar entities. We recognise that a request for all possible information could be extensive. Therefore, this request has been specifically focused to reduce the workload on your office and facilitate a timely response.
There is significant public interest in this matter, particularly with the upcoming 2025 local elections.
A previous OIA request confirmed Tupu Tonu has acquired multiple FNDC-originated assets, but most substantive information was withheld. Given the Crown’s ownership of these funds and the public interest in the disposal of ratepayer-owned assets, we are now seeking key information from your office.
Information Requested
1. A complete schedule of every land, building, or equity interest that originated with any New Zealand local authority (or its subsidiaries) and is now held by Ngāpuhi Investment Fund Limited (Tupu Tonu). For example:
| Originating Council/CCO | Asset Description | Asset Address | Date Acquired | % held | Price | Latest valuation |
|-------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|---------------|-------------------------|----------------|------------------|
| Far North Holdings Ltd | Community Housing Development | 450 Kamo Road and 2 Meldrum Street, Whangarei, 0112 | 16 Jan 2023 | 50% equity ownership | $4,050,000 | $4,091,000 |
| Far North Holdings Ltd | Community Housing Development | 151 Tawanui Road, Kaikohe 0405 | 25 June 2024 | 50% equity ownership | $9,750,000 | $9,750,000 |
| Far North Holdings Ltd | Commercial Property | 69 Marsden Road, Paihia, Northland | 29 June 2023 | 100% ownership | $10,837,111 | $10,850,000 |
| Far North Holdings Ltd | Commercial Property | 29 Hokianga Harbour Drive, Opononi 0473 | 22 May 2024 | 100% ownership | $2,512,000 | $2,521,566 |
| [e.g., Other Council/CCO] | [Asset Details] | [Asset Details] | [etc.] | [etc.] | [etc.] | [etc.] |
2. A list of all other Crown-owned entities or funds, besides Tupu Tonu, whose mandate, or full or partial purpose, includes acquiring or holding assets for the purpose of future Treaty of Waitangi settlements. For each entity identified, please provide the same schedule of acquired local authority assets as requested in question 1.
3. A list of all persons who served simultaneously on the board of the selling entity (the council or its subsidiary) AND the purchasing entity (including Tupu Tonu and any entity from question 2 above). Please include the individual's name and the timeframe they held these roles.
4. Copies of the final versions of any reports or briefing notes provided to the Minister's office that establish the policy or rationale for allowing Crown-owned settlement funds to acquire assets from local authorities without a public tender or consultation process. This request is for the key documents that explain the strategic justification, not for operational emails or drafts.
We look forward to your response within the statutory 20 working days.
From: Hon Nicola Willis
Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated email.
Thank you for contacting Hon Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance, Minister
for Economic Growth and Minister for Social Investment.
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Thank you for the taking the time to write.
Ngā mihi,
Office of Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance | Minister for Economic Growth | Minister for Social
Investment
Freepost: Private Bag 18 888 |Parliament Buildings |Wellington 6011
References
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From: Hon Nicola Willis
Dear Joshua
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request. We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and in any event no later than 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
Kind regards
Private Secretary | Office of Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance | Minister for Economic Growth | Minister for Social Investment
Private Bag 18 888 |Parliament Buildings |Wellington 6011 www.beehive.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.
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’ portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
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From: Nicola Willis (MIN)
Nicola Willis
Letter from Hon Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance, attached.
Kind regards
Private Secretary | Office of Hon Nicola Willis
Minister of Finance | Minister for Economic Growth | Minister for Social Investment
Private Bag 18 888 |Parliament Buildings |Wellington 6011 www.beehive.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.
Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’ portfolios will be proactively released (this does not include personal or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief description, location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the organisation will be released. If you are a senior staff member at an organisation, or meet with the Minister in your personal capacity, your name may also be released. The location of the meeting will be released, unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...
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From: Paul Goldsmith (MIN)
Nicola Willis
Tēnā koe
Thank you for your OIA request of 22 July 2025 which was transferred from
Minister of Finance to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations on
29 July 2025.
Specifically, you requested the following under the Official Information
Act 1982 (OIA):
o A complete schedule of every land, building, or equity interest that
originated with any New Zealand local authority (or its subsidiaries)
and is now held by Ngāpuhi Investment Fund Limited (Tupu Tonu).
o A list of all other Crown-owned entities or funds, besides Tupu Tonu,
whose mandate, or full or partial purpose, includes acquiring or
holding assets for the purpose of future Treaty of Waitangi
settlements. For each entity identified, please provide the same
schedule of acquired local authority assets as requested in question
1.
o A list of all persons who served simultaneously on the board of the
selling entity (the council or its subsidiary) AND the purchasing
entity (including Tupu Tonu and any entity from question 2 above).
Please include the individual's name and the timeframe they held these
roles.
o Copies of the final versions of any reports or briefing notes provided
to the Minister's office that establish the policy or rationale for
allowing Crown-owned settlement funds to acquire assets from local
authorities without a public tender or consultation process. This
request is for the key documents that explain the strategic
justification, not for operational emails or drafts.
A response to your request is currently being prepared. However, due to
the large quantity of official information captured by the request, a
response cannot be made within the original deadline of 20 working days
after the request being lodged. I am therefore writing to notify you of an
extension to the statutory timeframe to provide our response, under
section 15A(1)(a) of the Act. We will provide you with a response by 10
October.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about this process is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or phone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
Office of Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage | Minister of Justice
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations | Minister for Media and
Communications
Email [2][email address] | [3]www.beehive.govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
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