2 December 2025
OIAD-1786
Te Okiwa MacLean
[FYI request #32543 email] Tēnā koe Te Okiwa
Thank you for your emails of 10 and 13 October 2025 requesting information under the
Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) of the Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) about
HR–Leadership Communications, Oversight, and Governance Records Relating to Staff
Complaints, Psychological Safety, and Wellbeing in Tūmatakōkiri. The full wording of your
request is included at the bottom of this letter (Appendix 1).
Parts one and nine
I am refusing parts one and nine of your request under section 18(f) of the Act, as the
information cannot be made available without substantial collation or research. A search of
the Ministry’s records returned over 2000 emails for part one, and over 8000 emails for part
nine, that would need to be individually assessed to make a decision on their release. We
consider that the amount of work required to do this would interfere with the day-to-day
operations of the Ministry and could not be undertaken in a reasonable timeframe, even with
an extension.
Parts two-five and part eight
I am withholding all information in scope of parts two, three, four, five and eight of your
request in accordance with the following sections of the Act:
9(2)(a)
to protect the privacy of natural persons.
9(2)(ba)(i) to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which
any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of
any enactment, where the making available of the information would be
likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the
same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should
continue to be supplied.
9(2)(h)
to maintain legal professional privilege.
Information in scope of these parts of your request is highly sensitive and contains a
significant amount of private, personal information; information that was supplied under a
shared obligation of confidence, and information that was prepared or provided by a legal
professional where privilege has not been waived. We consider that the sensitive,
confidential or legally privileged information is so woven throughout the information in scope,
that it is not reasonable for the Ministry to extract information that can be appropriately
shared.
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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The Ministry recognises there is public interest in ensuring complaints are managed with due
process, and wellbeing/bullying concerns are addressed appropriately. However, in terms of
section 9(1) of the Act, we do not consider the public interest in this information outweighs
the need to withhold it.
Part six
Approximately 10,000 emails were captured in a search of the Ministry’s email archive.
These searches were limited to the staff members you listed in your request, where relevant,
by the key terms you have provided, and by the date range provided.
Note that this does not necessarily represent the number of documents that would be in
scope of your request, but the number that would need to be collated, filtered and assessed
in order to identify material in scope. Given the amount of time and effort required to identify
this material, we are unable to provide you with further details, such as the number of emails
sent by certain staff members.
Part seven
I have identified eight documents in scope of part seven of your request. I am releasing
these to you in full, as noted in the below document schedule. Note one document has been
provided to you as an excerpt, in accordance with section 16(1)(e) of the Act.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Office of the Ombudsman of
my decisions relating to this request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The
relevant details can be found a
t: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Nāku noa, nā
Electronically approved
Michelle Hawker
Manager – People Services
Ministry for the Environment | Manatū Mō Te Taiao
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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Document schedule
#
Title
Decision
Grounds
1
Te Taiao (Intranet) Guidance – Raising a
Release
N/A
Complaint or Concern
in full
2
Te Taiao (Intranet) Guidance – Investigating
Release
N/A
misconduct and discipline process
in full
3
Te Taiao (Intranet) Page – Speaking up and
Release
N/A
the Protected Disclosures Act
in full
4
Manager’s Hub – People Management
Release
N/A
Delegations
in full
5
Bullying, Racism, Harassment and
Release
N/A
Discrimination Policy
in full
6
(Te Kawa Mataaho) Te Whakapuaki Kōrero – Release
N/A
Speaking Up
in full
7
(Te Kawa Mataaho) Te Whakapuaki Kōrero – Release
N/A
Your Complaint, Your Rights
in full
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Excerpts of Ministry for the Environment
Release
16(1)(e)
Employment Agreement
in full
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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Appendix 1 – full request wording
10 October 2025
Email and message correspondence All email correspondence, Microsoft Teams messages, and meeting notes exchanged
between:
•Hakarangi Tichborne (General Manager – Tūmatakōkiri)
•Marie Helson (Business Partner – People & Capability, Tūmatakōkiri)
•Matthew Gutschlag (Manager – People & Capability)
•Tracey Kaio (General Manager – People & Capability)
•and/or any other member of the People & Capability (HR) team,
where any of the following terms appear in the subject line or body:
complaint, concern, psychological safety, wellbeing, bullying, performance, PIP, misconduct,
explore stage, investigation, or restructure.
2. HR advice or guidance provided Any briefing notes, templates, or advice documents supplied by People & Capability or Legal
to:
•Hakarangi Tichborne,
•the DCE –Tūmatakōkiri, or
•any other senior leader
regarding the management of staff complaints, performance processes, restructures, or
wellbeing/psychological-safety risks within Tūmatakōkiri during this period.
3. Records of oversight and escalation Any correspondence, minutes, or notes showing when:
•HR,
•the DCE – Tūmatakōkiri, or
•the Chief Executive
were first informed of psychological-safety, bullying, or wellbeing concerns within the
Tūmatakōkiri directorate, and any subsequent follow-up, mitigation, or review actions
undertaken.
4. Internal reporting and risk registers Any internal reporting, risk registers, or summary documents produced by People &
Capability (HR) relating to staff complaints, wellbeing, or psychological-safety concerns
within Tūmatakōkiri since 1 January 2024, including any reference to trends, high-risk
individuals or teams, or escalation to senior leadership.
5. Leadership awareness and outcomes Any correspondence, briefing notes, or meeting records showing when the DCE –
Tūmatakōkiri, GM Tūmatakōkiri, or Chief Executive were informed of concerns relating to
bullying, psychological safety, or retention risks within Tūmatakōkiri, and any outcomes,
actions, or decisions arising from these discussions.
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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6. Quantitative correspondence data
Please confirm the total number of emails and Teams messages captured by the search
terms used in response to this request, broken down by sender (e.g., Hakarangi Tichborne,
Marie Helson, or other HR staff).
7. HR policy and guidance Please provide the current internal guidance or policy used by People & Capability for
determining whether staff complaints are investigated, redirected, or deemed resolved
informally, and any changes to that guidance since 1 January 2024.
8. HR escalation records Please provide any records or trackers showing how many matters were escalated by
Hakarangi Tichborne to HR for advice or intervention since 1 January 2024, and the
outcomes recorded.
9. Complaints or correspondence indicating HR process concerns Please provide any emails, Teams messages, or briefing notes (including those received
from staff or exchanged between Hakarangi Tichborne, Marie Helson, Matthew Gutschlag,
Tracey Kaio, or other HR/Legal staff) that:
•refer to concerns about HR processes not being followed correctly,
•note departures from or inconsistencies with HR policy or the Public Service Commission’s
“Speaking Up” standards,
•raise issues of procedural fairness, bias, or conflicts of interest, or
•reference the need for independent advice, escalation, or HR review of process integrity.
For the purpose of the email/Teams search, please include key terms such as:
“process not followed”, “procedural fairness”, “breach of policy”, “bias”, “conflict of interest”,
“inappropriate handling”, “HR failure”, “HR advice ignored”, “informal handling”, “no
investigation”, “speak up”, “model standards”, “PSC”, “WorkSafe”, or “psychological safety”.
Clarifications •This request concerns process and governance, not the personal details of employees.
•Please release documents with necessary redactions rather than withholding in full.
•Information that is no longer under active consideration should not be withheld under s
9(2)(f)(iv); any reliance on that ground should apply only to genuinely live, deliberative
material.
•If any parts are withheld, please provide the remainder and state the precise statutory
grounds for each withholding.
•Please interpret this request broadly, capturing all relevant correspondence, meeting notes,
attachments, and draft material held in MfE’s document management or messaging
systems.
For the purposes of this request, the term “complaint” includes any expression of concern,
allegation, or report - whether formal or informal, written or verbal - raised by a staff member,
contractor, or representative that relates to workplace behaviour, leadership conduct,
bullying or harassment, wellbeing or psychological safety, cultural safety, or procedural
fairness.
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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This includes but is not limited to:
concerns raised in emails, Teams chats, exit interviews, or performance discussions;
matters logged through HR or People & Capability channels (including “informal” or “off-the-
record” cases); and
feedback or concerns raised through staff hui, lessons-learned exercises, or surveys.
This request is made in the public interest to promote transparency around HR–leadership
decision-making, wellbeing, governance, and compliance with the Public Service
Commission’s Speak Up Model Standards.
13 October 2025
In addition to the individuals already listed (Hakarangi Tichborne, Marie Helson, Matthew
Gutschlag, and Tracey Kaio), please also include in the correspondence search:
Pearl Carré,
Koren Grason, and
Nicole Henry
for any email correspondence, Microsoft Teams messages, meeting notes, or related
attachments exchanged between or involving the above-named HR or leadership staff that
refer to, discuss, or relate to:
staff complaints or concerns (formal or informal),
wellbeing, morale, or psychological safety,
performance, PIP, or misconduct processes,
HR advice, escalation, or investigation handling, or
restructure or leadership culture issues.
This clarification is to ensure all relevant correspondence relating to HR-handled issues,
wellbeing, or leadership processes within the Tūmatakōkiri directorate is captured. This
includes all correspondence referring to general or informal complaints, wellbeing concerns,
psychological safety, or staff morale, whether or not they were handled as formal HR
matters.
PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143 | Freephone 0800 499 700 | environment.govt.nz
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