Kia ora Nigel,

 

Please find attached Council’s correspondence regarding your official
information request dated 22 February 2026.

 

As outlined in the attached letter, Council has reviewed the request and
is seeking clarification of scope to enable it to be progressed.

 

If you wish to refine or discuss any aspect of the request, please feel
free to contact us at [1][email address]

 

Ngā mihi,

 

       
Frances Kennedy
Official Information and Privacy Officer
Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti - Gisborne District Council
E: [2][email address] | P:0800 653 800
A: 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne | [3]Web | [4]Fb | [5]App

 

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Mōrena Nigel,

 

Please find attached Council’s formal response to your official
information request dated 22 February 2026.

 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss refining the scope of
your request, please feel free to get in touch.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

       
Frances Kennedy
Official Information and Privacy Officer
Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti - Gisborne District Council
E: [1][email address] | P:0800 653 800
A: 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne | [2]Web | [3]Fb | [4]App

 

From: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 24 February 2026 9:53 am
To: [FOI #33800 email]
Subject: LGOIMA_370544 RE: Official Information request - Forestry
Industry – External Influence Over Public Communications and
Decision‑Making Formal acknowledgment, clarification sought.

 

Kia ora Nigel,

 

Please find attached Council’s correspondence regarding your official
information request dated 22 February 2026.

 

As outlined in the attached letter, Council has reviewed the request and
is seeking clarification of scope to enable it to be progressed.

 

If you wish to refine or discuss any aspect of the request, please feel
free to contact us at [5][email address]

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Frances Kennedy
Official Information and Privacy Officer
Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti - Gisborne District Council
E: [6][email address] | P:0800 653 800
A: 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne | [7]Web | [8]Fb | [9]App

 

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Kia ora,

Thank you for contacting Gisborne District Council. This is an automatic
reply to let you know we’ve received your email.

Our team will review your request and be in touch within two working days
to provide a formal acknowledgement under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

Important things to know about your request
Timeframes: Once acknowledged, Council has up to 20 working days to
respond, unless an extension is required. If so, we’ll notify you of the
reason and the new timeframe.
Transfers: If your request is more closely connected with another agency,
we may transfer it under section 12 of LGOIMA and will let you know if
this occurs.
Refinement: If your request is unclear, overly broad, or would require
substantial collation, we may ask you to refine or clarify it. This helps
us provide the most useful information.
Charging: In some cases, particularly where large amounts of information
are sought, Council may apply charges in line with national guidelines.
You’ll be advised in advance if this applies.
Review rights: If you are dissatisfied with how your request is handled,
you can seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman.

Ngā mihi,
Official Information and Privacy Team
Gisborne District Council

Kia ora Nigel,

 

Thank you for your email and for providing clarification.

 

For the record, and to ensure we are on the right track, you have
requested the following:

 

1. Briefings and key messages (1 March 2023 – 22 February 2026)
Copies of any briefings, talking points, or key-message documents prepared
for senior leadership or elected officials that relate to:

o forestry slash events
o erosion or sedimentation linked to forestry
o public communications about forestry impacts

 

2. Communications strategy and perception management (1 March 2023 – 22
February 2026)
Copies of any communications plans or strategy documents that include
reference to:

o “stakeholder messaging”
o “public perception”
o “communications risks”
o “industry engagement”

…where these terms relate to forestry or forestry-related environmental
impacts

 

3. External input into public statements (1 January 2021 – present)
Copies of any final versions of public statements (including press
releases, website updates, advisories, or social media posts) relating to
forestry that were reviewed, edited, or approved by any external party.
For each document, this includes:

o the name of the external party involved
o the nature of their input (e.g. review, edits, approval)
o the date on which their input occurred

(This request does not seek drafts, internal discussions, or emails - only
the final published versions and the record of external input.)

 

4. Meetings with forestry-sector representatives (1 January 2021 –
present)
A list of all meetings held since 1 January 2021 between Council and:

o forestry industry representatives
o forestry lobby groups
o PR or communications firms acting for forestry interests (please note
that without specific organisation names, this may be difficult to
search across systems)
o the Forest Owners Association
o Te Uru Rākau / NZ Forest Service

For each meeting, please provide:

o Date
o Attendees
o subject or purpose of the meeting

No minutes or detailed notes - only the meeting list.

 

5. Conflict-of-interest declarations (1 January 2021 – present)
Copies of any conflict-of-interest declarations made by staff involved in:

o forestry-related policy
o forestry compliance or enforcement
o environmental monitoring relating to forestry
o forestry-related public communications

 

If this does not accurately reflect your request, please let me know as
soon as possible.

 

Scope and processing

We will start by carrying out initial searches to identify what
information is held and how it can be collated.

Some parts of the request, particularly section 2, use quite broad terms
such as “stakeholder messaging” and “public perception”, which don’t
translate neatly into something we can search for. Council information is
not held in subject-based folders (for example, “forestry”), so
identifying relevant material will likely involve reviewing a wider range
of documents.

 

Depending on what we find, we may come back to you to further refine or
clarify parts of the request to make sure we can provide a meaningful
response.

 

We will now begin processing your request and will respond as soon as
reasonably practicable, and no later than Thursday 23 April 2026. This
date takes into account Good Friday (3 April 2026) and Easter Monday (6
April 2026).

 

Review rights

As you noted, you may seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman,
you can find more information on how to do this at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by calling 0800 802 602.

 

Ngā mihi,

       
Frances Kennedy
Official Information and Privacy Officer
Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti - Gisborne District Council
E: [2][email address] | P:0800 653 800
A: 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne | [3]Web | [4]Fb | [5]App

 

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Kia ora Nigel

 

Please find attached our response to your official information request.

 

Please accept my apologies for the response being a day late.

 

Any further correspondence regarding this matter should be directed to the
[1][email address] email address.

 

Nga mihi
Donna

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]