UNCLASSIFIED
New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Aorere
195 Lambton Quay
4 November 2025
Private Bag
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
T +64 4 439 8000
F +64 4 472 9596
James
OIA 30486
[FYI request #32546 email]
James
email of 10 October 2025 in which you request the following under
the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA):
“1. All communications between MFAT and Chloe Swarbrick/Green Party/or its
representatives relating to the three New Zealanders (Samuel Leason, Rana
Hamida, Youssef Sammour) on the global flotilla who were detained by Israel.
2. Number of staff both local and overseas who worked on this case/issue.
3. Number of emails and calls received by MFAT from the public wanting action
taken regarding the trio.
4. Issues if any, caused by the volume of emails and calls.
5. Total estimated cost, if possible, of dealing with this matter.”
Your request has been numbered for administrative ease.
Response to your request
In response to part one of your request, Chlöe
authority to act by the New Zealanders on the Global Sumud Flotilla. Consular officials
therefore engaged with her and her office throughout the time the New Zealanders were
in detention. The information contained in the communications you have requested is
the OIA:
6(a), to avoid prejudicing the security or defence of New Zealand or the
international relations of the New Zealand Government, and
9(2)(a), to protect individuals’ privacy.
Where the information is publicly available, your request is refused under section 18(d)
of the OIA, as the information requested is publicly available.
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/middle-east/israel-hamas-conflict
UNCLASSIFIED
Page 2 of 3
www.safetravel.govt.nz/destinations/israel-and-the-occupied-palestinian-
territories
In response to part two of your request, 10 staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (the Ministry) were directly involved in providing consular assistance to the
New Zealanders and responding to emails and calls from the public relating to the case.
In addition, a large number of staff at the Ministry’s Consular Emergency Contact Centre,
and staff in our Middle East and Africa, Security, Executive Services, Communications
involved in
managing the volume of enquiries.
In response to part three of your request, as at 14 October 2025, the Ministry has
received at least 140,000 emails relating to the detained New Zealanders. The majority
of these came from the same email address and we believe were electronically
generated. In the same period, at least 454 phone calls were received by the consular
contact centre. Please note that this includes emails and calls received by the Ministry’s
Consular Division, and general enquiries inbox. Messages and calls may have been
received by other public facing inboxes in Wellington and at our overseas posts that have
not been centrally recorded.
In response to part four of your request, the volume of calls received in our Consular
Emergency Contact Centre over the period in question was around 10 times the usual
volume. The volume of emails was many hundred times greater than normal. Both these
ch
assistance in emergencies overseas.
The volume of calls and emails received raised concerns that New Zealanders trying to
timely way. We were also concerned that the volume of emails received could
overwhelm the storage capacity of the Ministry’s email systems. Preventative actions
In response to part five of your request, funding for the Ministry’s consular service
cases or by the time spent by individual staff members. Accordingly, this part of your
request is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information requested is not
held by the Ministry.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official
information requests where possible. Therefore, our response to your request (with your
personal information removed) may be published on the Ministry website:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/contact-us/official-information-act-responses/
Page 3 of 3
If you have any questions about this decision, you can contact us by email at:
[email address]. You have the right
Ombudsman of this decision by contacting www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Sarah Corbett
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
