This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Official Information request 'Fale Andrew Lesā updates'.

Document 1
From:
Nicole McKee (MIN)
To:
s9(2)(a)
Subject:
Letter from Hon Nicole McKee, Associate Minister of Justice
1982
Date:
Tuesday, 16 September 2025 10:08:32
Attachments:
image002.jpg
Letter from Hon Nicole McKee 16 September 2025.pdf
Kia ora,
ACT 
Please find attached a letter from Hon Nicole McKee.
Ngā mihi,
Office of Hon Nicole McKee
Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Email: [email address]
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy
the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be
unlawful.
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Document 1.1
1982
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s(9)(2)(a)
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Document 2
From:
Andrew Lesa
To:
Nicole McKee (MIN)
Cc:
Admin, Legal
1982
Subject:
Re: Letter from Hon Nicole McKee, Associate Minister of Justice
Date:
Friday, 3 October 2025 10:20:02
Attachments:
image002.jpg
MoJ Lesa.pdf
FYI.
ACT 
From: Nicole McKee (MIN) 
Sent: Tuesday, 16 September 2025 10:08 am
To: s9(2)(a)
Subject: Letter from Hon Nicole McKee, Associate Minister of Justice
Kia ora,
Please find attached a letter from Hon Nicole McKee.
Ngā mihi,
Office of Hon Nicole McKee
Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Email: [email address]
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
INFORMATION 
Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are
not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful.
OFFICIAL 
THE 
UNDER 
RELEASED 

Document 2.1
Fale Andrew Lesā 
s9(2)(a)
1982
Friday 03 October 2025 
ACT 
Hon Nicole Mckee 
1 Molesworth Street 
Wellington  
RE: JP and Visiting Justice appointments? 
Tena koe Minister, 
Thank you for your letter dated 16 September 2025. Please accept my apology for the delay. 
I was seeking legal advice.  
In your letter you describe and I quote “A range of publicly available sources over many 
years indicates that you have said or implied that you have worked for a lengthy period of 
INFORMATION 
time as a diplomat (including for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or the United 
Nations); you have worked for several international organisations; and you had obtained 
several different university degrees.” 
I request a copy of these sources. I have supported the work of the UN, the Asian 
Development Bank, the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe, and many others for over 
sixteen years and have travelled extensively to do so. The definition of a diplomat includes 
those who work in multilateral spaces. I continue to believe that diplomat was the best way 
to describe what I did. My transcripts provide proof of my academic study.  
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The letter of appointment from ACC includes the following key statement “Advising the 
Minister whether the MSL is invested in compliance with the ACC Act.” I believed this to 
mean that I was performing the duties of a director.  
THE 
I am not convinced that the matters raised warrant my removal. I am aware that JPs have 
survived much more serious charges over the years. I urge you to consider my age. Many of 
the matters raised took place in my early years as a young adult (my career in governance 
when I was just nineteen). I am not convinced that they represent genuine deceit but rather 
youthful naivety.  
I very much look forward to your response. 
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My best wishes,  
Fale Andrew Lesa. 
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Document 3
From:
Nicole McKee (MIN)
To:
s9(2)(a)
Subject:
Letter from the Associate Minister of Justice - Hon Nicole McKee
1982
Date:
Friday, 17 October 2025 07:52:55
Attachments:
Letter from Hon Nicole McKee 17 Oct 2025.pdf
Kia ora,
Please find attached a letter from Hon Nicole McKee.
ACT 
Ngā mihi,
Office of Hon Nicole McKee
Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Email: [email address]
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an
addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy
the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be
unlawful.
INFORMATION 
OFFICIAL 
THE 
UNDER 
RELEASED 



Document 3.1
1982
ACT 
17 October 2025 
Fale Andrew Lesa, JP 
s9(2)(a)
Dear Mr Lesa 
Justice of the Peace and Visiting Justice positions 
Thank you for your letter of 3 October 2025, in reply to my letter of 16 September. I 
have considered your response. 
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The publicly-available sources referred to in my previous letter were those contained 
in the documentation that the Ministry had provided to you on 8 August. 
I am not persuaded that your response should cause me to alter my preliminary view. 
Your  letter  does  not  satisfactorily  explain  the  behaviour  outlined  in  my  preliminary 
view, either by providing a sufficient justification, or a sufficient excuse, for the various 
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misleading  or  exaggerated  claims  about  your  qualifications  and  experience.  In 
particular, your continued insistence in your letter on the appropriateness of describing 
yourself  as  a  “diplomat”,  and  as  a  “director”  of  ACC,  without  offering  any  proper 
substantiation, shows a lack of judgement. Your academic records do not assist either. 
THE 
I  remain  of  the  view  that  your  behaviour  shows  a  long-standing  pattern,  on  many 
occasions  and  over  many  years,  of  being  willing  to  mislead,  or  exaggerate,  over 
numerous important matters of fact about yourself. It is so wide-ranging as to indicate 
a persistent attitude of recklessness towards honesty and accuracy. 
Your behaviour undermines any confidence that you are a person who is likely to bring 
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a responsible and careful approach to  your official duties. It is inconsistent with the 
attributes necessary for a person who holds office as a Justice of the Peace and a 
Visiting  Justice,  for  the  reasons  more  fully  outlined  in  my  previous  letter.  I  will  not 
repeat those reasons in full here. In my view, your behaviour amounts to misconduct, 
in the sense of raising doubts about your integrity, honesty, and judgment to an extent 
that undermines your fitness to hold office as a Justice of the Peace and a Visiting 
Justice.  
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1982
ACT 
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