Tçnâ koe Cara,

 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND
MEETINGS ACT 1987: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF REQUEST

 

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request
dated 3 December 2025, for information on The Dowse’s decision to acquire
a new work by Shane Cotton.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 20 working days from the date it was received. Based on this
timeframe, you can expect a response by 21 January 2026. This timeframe
takes into account the LGOIMA summer holiday period, which runs from 20
December 2025 to 10 January 2026. If we are unable to respond by that
date, we will notify you of an extension.

 

If the information you have requested is no longer required, we would
appreciate you letting us know.

 

Please note that we may publish our response to your request, including
your name, on Council’s website if we consider there is a public interest
in sharing the information provided to you. You can view published
responses at: [1]Proactive releases | Hutt City Council.

 

Ngâ mihi nui,

 

Rebekah van der Splinter
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy

 

Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010 
P: 04 570 6666  |  W: [2]www.huttcity.govt.nz

                                                              

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Tçnâ koe Cara,

 

Thank you for your official information request dated 3 December 2025
regarding The Dowse’s decision to acquire a new work by Shane Cotton.

 

Before we proceed, we’d like to clarify the scope of your request. The
Shane Cotton work is being commissioned by the Dowse Foundation, which is
an independent charitable trust. The Foundation is fundraising for the
commission and will donate the completed work to The Dowse Art Museum
(operated by Hutt City Council). Because the Foundation is independent,
Hutt City Council does not hold information about the fundraising campaign
or the commissioning process.

 

Council’s involvement is very limited and relates only to the future
acceptance of the donation, which has not yet occurred.

 

Could you confirm the information you would like from Hutt City Council
given this context? This will help us ensure we respond accurately.

 

It would be much appreciated if you could please provide a response by 11
December 2025. If we do not hear from you by that date, we may not be able
to provide any information in response to your request.

 

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as you are able.

 

Ngâ mihi nui,

 

Rebekah van der Splinter
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy

 

Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010 
P: 04 570 6666  |  W: [1]www.huttcity.govt.nz

                                                              

From: Information Requests <[Hutt City Council request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 3 December 2025 2:16 pm
To: 'Cara Brown' <[FOI #33115 email]>
Subject: Your LGOIMA request: Dowse acquisition – Shane Cotton work
(Brown)

 

Tçnâ koe Cara,

 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND
MEETINGS ACT 1987: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF REQUEST

 

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request
dated 3 December 2025, for information on The Dowse’s decision to acquire
a new work by Shane Cotton.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 20 working days from the date it was received. Based on this
timeframe, you can expect a response by 21 January 2026. This timeframe
takes into account the LGOIMA summer holiday period, which runs from 20
December 2025 to 10 January 2026. If we are unable to respond by that
date, we will notify you of an extension.

 

If the information you have requested is no longer required, we would
appreciate you letting us know.

 

Please note that we may publish our response to your request, including
your name, on Council’s website if we consider there is a public interest
in sharing the information provided to you. You can view published
responses at: [2]Proactive releases | Hutt City Council.

 

Ngâ mihi nui,

 

Rebekah van der Splinter
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy

 

Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010 
P: 04 570 6666  |  W: [3]www.huttcity.govt.nz

                                                              

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Tēnā koe Cara,

 

Thank you for your clarification of 4 December 2025. To confirm, you have
now requested: “All information held by the Dowse and Hutt City Council
regarding the Dowse Foundation's recent $100,000 major art commission”.

 

I have sent the updated scope of your request to the relevant teams for
their consideration. If we require any further information from you, we
will be in touch.

 

At this stage, you can expect to receive a response no later than 21
January 2026. If we are unable to respond by that date, we will notify you
of an extension.

 

Ngā mihi nui,

 

Rebekah van der Splinter
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy

 

Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010 
P: 04 570 6666  |  W: [1]www.huttcity.govt.nz

                                                              

show quoted sections