On behalf of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon Christopher Luxon,
thank you for your email. Please accept this as acknowledgement that your
message has been received.
 
While all emails are read and considered, due to the very high volume of
messages sent to the Prime Minister, it is not always possible to provide
a personal reply.
 
If the subject of your email is closely related to another ministerial
portfolio, we may refer you to the Minister who will be best placed to
review your message. If you have already copied your email to a Minister
or agency responsible for the issue you have raised, your message will be
noted.
 
If you are a Botany resident writing about a local issue or a constituent
matter, or you are writing to Rt Hon Christopher Luxon in his capacity as
the MP for Botany, please contact the Botany Electorate Office at
[1][email address].
 
If your email is an invitation, a media query, or a request under the
Official Information Act, you will receive a further response in due
course.
 
Thank you again for taking the time to write.
 
Kind regards,
 
Office of Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister of New Zealand
Minister for National Security and Intelligence
Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services
Leader of the National Party
Member of Parliament for Botany

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

Kia ora Xander,

Thank you for your email received 6th February 2026, in which you submitted an Official Information Act request as follows:

I request access to:

All correspondence between the New Zealand Government and UK Minister Peter Mandelson. This includes, but is not limited to, letters, emails, memoranda, meeting notes, and any other form of communication.

Any documents, records, or other information held by the New Zealand Government that relates to or concerns Peter Mandelson, including references to him in communications between government officials, ministers, or agencies.

I request that the search cover the full historical period of Peter Mandelson’s ministerial roles, after his 1992 election as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, as well as any information prior to his political tenure. Please include correspondence or references involving any New Zealand Prime Ministers, Ministers, or government officials, including, but not limited to, Helen Clark, Christopher Luxon, or other relevant officeholders.

Your request is being considered in accordance with the Act, and you can expect a response by 6th March 2026 (date determined by the OIA calculator).

Ngā mihi nui

Sonya Ford
Correspondence Lead Advisor | Office of Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister
Minister for National Security and Intelligence
Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services

 
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

show quoted sections

 

Dear Xander

 

The Prime Minister’s Office can only respond to requests made under the
OIA insofar as these seek information held by us.

 

We note that you are seeking information from 1992 to the present. For
your awareness, this office’s holdings commenced on 27 November 2023, with
the issuing of the ministerial warrants. We note, too, that it is highly
unlikely a single agency or minister would hold the information you are
seeking, which means parts of your request are likely to be refused under
section 18(g) of the OIA.

 

We are considering partially transferring your request to the Department
of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as they
are, respectively, responsible for the correspondence of former ministers
and relationships between the New Zealand Government and foreign nations.
If you are seeking information that you believe may be held by another
Minister or agency, we would encourage you to make separate requests to
them directly. The Ministry of Justice’s Directory of Official Information
may be of assistance:
[1]https://www.justice.govt.nz/about/direct....

 

If you would like to clarify your request, to avoid a partial refusal
under section 18 of the OIA, please let us know by replying to this email.

 

We will respond to your request for information held by us as soon as
reasonably practicable and no later than 6 March 2026.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Sarah Boyle

References

Visible links
1. https://www.justice.govt.nz/about/direct...

Kia ora Xander,

 

Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act which
was partially transferred to the Department of Internal Affairs (the
Department) on 26 February 2026.

 

In which you requested the following:

 1. All correspondence between the New Zealand Government and UK Minister
Peter Mandelson. This includes, but is not limited to, letters,
emails, memoranda, meeting notes, and any other form of communication.
 2. Any documents, records, or other information held by the New Zealand
Government that relates to or concerns Peter Mandelson, including
references to him in communications between government officials,
ministers, or agencies.

I request that the search cover the full historical period of Peter
Mandelson’s ministerial roles, after his 1992 election as a Member of
Parliament in the United Kingdom, as well as any information prior to his
political tenure. Please include correspondence or references involving
any New Zealand Prime Ministers, Ministers, or government officials,
including, but not limited to, Helen Clark, Christopher Luxon, or other
relevant officeholders.

If the requested information is held in electronic or paper form, I am
happy to receive it in whatever format is most convenient for the agency.
If there are any grounds for withholding information under the OIA, please
provide a detailed explanation.

 

The Department will provide its response to your request as soon as
practicable and within twenty working days. The due date for your request
is 26 March 2026. We will contact you if we require clarification of your
request, more time to respond, or if your request has been transferred to
another organisation to respond to.

 

Please note that in cases where the Department’s response provides
information that is identified to be of general public interest, the
response may also be published on the Department of Internal Affairs
website. If the Department publishes its response to your OIA request, all
personal information, including your name and contact details, will be
removed.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Branch Performance

Partnerships and Commissions | Te Aukaha

Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua

[1]www.dia.govt.nz

 

[2]Logo: Internal Affairs - Te Tari Taiwhenua

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dia.govt.nz/

Kia ora Xander,

 

We would like to clarify your request because, as it is currently worded,
it would require a large amount of collation. On that basis, it is likely
to be refused.

 

As background, the Office of the Ombudsman has confirmed that the
Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) holds the official records of former
Ministers of the Crown. DIA can ask Parliamentary Service to run an
electronic search of the parliamentary server for former Ministers’
records. However, there are significant limitations. DIA cannot run these
searches itself, and the Parliamentary Service search tool requires very
specific search terms. If the terms are broad, the search returns large
volumes of irrelevant information (for example, media items and
correspondence from the public that simply use the same word).

 

We have suggested some points below that may assist to narrow the search.
Clarifying these points will help us determine the extent of collation
required and whether charges may apply under the Act.

o Correspondence from an individual or a particular office.
o Outlining a defined timeframe (noting the transferred timeframe of
1992 (or before) until 26 November 2023 is over 30 years).

 

If the request remains broad, it is likely to be refused under section
18(f) of the Act because it would involve significant effort to research
and extract the data. Narrowing the scope as much as possible will help us
assess what can realistically be provided.

 

Could you please confirm by end of day, Friday 6 March 2026 whether you
agree to a refinement. Alternatively, if you can provide very specific
search terms—such as exact dates or titles of documents—we may be able to
include those instead.

 

Please note that any clarification or amendment to a request is treated as
a new request for the purposes of calculating the statutory response
timeframe, under section 15(1AA) of the OIA.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Branch Performance

Partnerships and Commissions | Te Aukaha

Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua

[1]www.dia.govt.nz

 

[2]Logo: Internal Affairs - Te Tari Taiwhenua

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dia.govt.nz/