26 146 Response letter.pdf

WELLINGTON
The Customhouse, 1 Hinemoa Street, Wellington
PO Box 2218, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
www.customs.govt.nz
17 March 2025
Ref: OIA 26-146
Mr Julian Jackson
By email: [FYI request #33338 email]
Tēnā koe Julian
Response to your request under the Official Information Act 1982
I acknowledge your email to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet received on 20 December
2026, which was transferred to the Minister of Customs and subsequently transferred to the New
Zealand Customs Service (Customs) on 17 February 2026. You have requested the following under
the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“I am writing under the Official Information Act 1982 to request the fol owing information
regarding ministerial advisory groups established since the formation of the current coalition
government (National, ACT, and New Zealand First) following the 2023 general election:
1. A complete list of all ministerial advisory groups formed since 27 November 2023, including
their official titles, responsible ministers, and terms of reference.
2. For each such group, please provide:
- The total allocated budget (including any revisions) for the group’s operations for the
2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years;
- A breakdown and the totals of actual expenditures to date, including but not limited to:
payments or honoraria to members, catering and venue costs, administrative or
secretariat support, travel and accommodation, and any other operational expenses;
-
Copies of any Cabinet papers, funding approvals, or internal budgeting documents
authorizing the group’s financial resourcing.
This request follows recent public reports indicating significant spending by some advisory
groups—for example, nearly $24,000 on catering for meetings of the Ministerial Advisory
Group for victims of retail crime—and growing public interest in transparency around such
expenditures.
I request that this information be provided within the statutory 20 working days under the OIA.
If any part of this request is declined, please specify the relevant withholding grounds under
the Act and provide a public interest test where applicable.”
Please see below Customs response to each of part of your request.
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E: [email address]
W: www.customs.govt.nz

Part one

“1. A complete list of al  ministerial advisory groups formed since 27 November 2023,
including their official titles, responsible ministers, and terms of reference.”

I can advise that for the period 27 November 2023 to 17 February 2026, Customs was responsible
for one Ministerial Advisory group,  the  Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and
Organised Crime  (the Group),  established by  Hon Casey Costello,  Minister of Customs and
Associate Minister of Police.

The Group provided independent, expert advice and provided monthly reports to the Minister with its
findings and recommendations on different aspects of New Zealand’s response to organised crime.
The group commenced its work in late February 2025 and concluded its work in September 2025.

The Groups ‘Terms of Reference’ is publicly available using the following link:
https://www.customs.govt.nz/media/ubej5inp/mag-terms-of-reference-updated.pdf

Question two

For Question Two of your request, I have responded to each part individually below.

“2. For each such group, please provide:
-  The total allocated budget (including any revisions) for the group’s operations for the
2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years;

Please see Table One below which shows the budget and spend for the Group broken down by
financial year for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. There is no budget allocation for 2023/24 as the Group
did not commence until February 2025.

Table One: Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime
budget and actual spend
Year
Budget
Spend
2024/2025
$347,000
$285,232
2025/2026
$275,000
$223,784

-  A breakdown and the totals of actual expenditures to date, including but not limited to:
payments or honoraria to members, catering and venue costs, administrative or
secretariat support, travel and accommodation, and any other operational expenses

Please see Table  Two below  which shows  a breakdown of the Groups spend broken down by
category and financial year.

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Table Two: Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime
expenditure by category
Category
2024/2025 spend
2025/2026 spend
Travel
$35,898.33
$34,083.72
Catering
$2,636.38
$2,362.40
Staff Remuneration
$120,867.14
$60,187.20
Consultant and contractors
$41,216.46
$52,405.33
Professional and agency fees
$84,613.66
$74,745.53
Total
$285,231.97
$223,784.18

-  Copies of any Cabinet papers, funding approvals, or internal budgeting documents
authorizing the group’s financial

Please find attached the PDF document titled ‘OIA 26-146 Reports to the Minster on TSOC funding’
containing  the documents  listed below that were provided  to the Minister of Customs regarding
funding and approvals for the Group:
  •  RPT 25-147 Proposed update to the Ministerial Advisory Group’s Working Days
•  RPT 25/165 Early Confirmation of In-Principle Expense Transfer – Ministerial Advisory Group
on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime
•  RPT 26/013 Proposed update to the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group’s Working Days
•  Excerpt from Letter to Hon Nicola Wil ia, Minister of Finance: 2025 March Baseline Update –
Submission for Vote Customs
•  Excerpt from: RPT 25/017 2025 March Baseline Update Submission for Vote Customs

Please note that some information in these documents has been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of
the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons.

For Cabinet papers regarding the Group, these are publicly available via the New Zealand Police’s
website using the following link: https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/ministerial-advisory-
group-transnational-serious-and-organised-crime-proactive
You have the right, by way of complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the
Act, to seek an investigation and review of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint
is available online at: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or you can phone 0800 802 602.
If you have any queries in regard to this response, please contact the Correspondence, Reviews and
Ministerial Servicing Team: [email address].

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Please note that Customs proactively releases responses to Official Information Act requests on our
website. As such, we may publish this response on our website after we have sent it to you. Your
name and contact details wil be removed.
Ngā mihi

Carey Griffiths
Acting Group Manager
Policy and Strategy

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