4 September 2025
John Luke
[FYI request #32124 email]
Tēnā koe John
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00096833
Thank you for your email on 26 August 2025, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
I noted from a recent OIA Act request that Fale Andrew Lesā said he is part of the travel
assistance review panel at Ministry of Health. In light of recent news,
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stuff.co.nz%2F
nz-news%2F360764249%2Fjustice-appointee-resigns-everything-after-stuff-investigation-
reveals-flawed-
cv&data=05%7C02%7Coiagr%40health.govt.nz%7C583e429ee7b74534755008dde440e8
1d%7C23cec7246d204bd19fe9dc4447edd1fa%7C0%7C0%7C638917689614666258%7C
Unknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAi
OiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=274
%2B0kXAsyXSwUbAcx7xaUID4fbVlaDcec7sInC4OgA%3D&reserved=0
Can you please confirm if Fale Andrew Lesā is on your travel assistance review panel.
What is the term of reference of this panel and how much he get paid? Who else is on this
panel and how did he get on to this panel, is that via public call for nomination?
Response
Health New Zealand has not convened a travel assistance review panel. Therefore, your request is
refused under section 18(e) of the OIA as this information does not exist or, despite reasonable
efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
Please note, Fale Andrew Lesā may have been part of the review panel convened by the Ministry
of Health (the Ministry) in 2018; however, this would need to be confirmed by the Ministry.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Danielle Coe
Manager (OIA), Government Services
