5 November 2025
Ref: DOIA-REQ-0022514-Spencer Jones
Spencer Jones
Email: [FYI request #32199 email]
Tēnā koe Spencer 
Thank you for your email of 7 October 2025 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following information:
Subject: Request for Clarification – DOIA-REQ-0020484 (Industrial Hemp Innovation, Bioeconomy 
and Interagency Oversight 2020-2025)
Thank you for your response dated 30 September 2025 (ref DOIA-REQ-0020484) to my OIA 
regarding Industrial Hemp Innovation, Bioeconomy and Interagency Oversight (2020–2025). I 
appreciate the detailed outline of your search process and the links provided.
After reviewing the response in full, I would appreciate clarification on three specific points to 
ensure the record is complete and accurate under sections 13 and 15 of the Act:
Previously Released Papers
– Your letter refers to “two papers previously released to you.”
Could you please identify these by title, date, and release reference number, and confirm whether 
they were supplied under this OIA or a prior request?
If they were not attached to this release, please provide copies or links.
Consultation with the Ministry for the Environment (MfE)
– Your response notes consultation with MPI and MoH but makes no mention of MfE, despite my 
request specifically including that agency.
Please confirm whether MfE was consulted and, if so, whether any correspondence, minutes, or 
records were identified or considered out of scope.
Internal Briefings and Advice
– While the Finding the Way (Coriolis 2023) report is helpful, please confirm whether any internal 
MBIE documents—such as ministerial briefings, aide memoires, or working notes—referenced 
industrial hemp within the Circular & Bioeconomy Research Programme or related innovation 
initiatives between 2020 and 2025.
If such material exists, please provide copies or specify any withholding grounds under sections 6 
or 9.
In response to your first item, the two documents, “Draft Hemp Position Paper 28 May 2019” and “Hemp 
Sector Position additional info”, were released to you on 22 August 2025 as part of your previous OIA 
request (DOIA-REQ-0016727). Please refer to the letter and documents we sent to you on that date.

---

In response to your second item, we have consulted with the Mfe, and there are no documents within 
scope of your request. 
In response to your third item, there is one document that briefly mentions hemp as an example. This 
document was used only as background information by the project team at that time. We are releasing 
this document to you in full.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, or if you require any further assistance, 
please contact [email address].
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information 
about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 
602.
Nāku noa, nā
Hamish Wilson 
Manager Economic Strategy and Insights
Labour, Science and Enterprise, MBIE

---