44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
26 March 2026
Andrew Ecclestone
[FYI request #33868 email]
REF: OIA-21289
Dear Andrew
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email
of 26 February 2026 requesting the fol owing information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act). I wil respond to each query in turn.
1. Please provide me with an unredacted copy of the document entitled: ‘Attachment 3 Petone to
Grenada RoNS Investment Case’.
The document you have requested is publicly available on the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
(NZTA) website at:
https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/petone-to-grenada/Petone-to-Grenada-
Investment-Case-Aug-2025.pdf. The information withheld from the published document continues to
apply under the fol owing sections of the Act:
• 9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect information where the making available of the information would be
likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is
the subject of the information.
• 9(2)(ba)(ii) – to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any
person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment,
where the making available of the information would be likely otherwise to damage the public
interest.
• 9(2)(f)(iv) – to maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the
confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials.
• 9(2)(g)(i) - maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank
expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of an
organisation or officers and employees of any department or organisation in the course of their
duty.
• 9(2)(j) – to enable a Minister of the Crown or any department or organisation holding the
information to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial
and industrial negotiations).
2. In the partial y redacted document cited in (1) above, information is withheld in reliance on a
number of OIA provisions including: 9(2)(b)(ii), 9(2)(ba)(ii), 9(2)(j). For each instance of
withholding, please provide me with details of:
a. Whose commercial interests are being protected under each instance of withholding
under 9(2)(b)(i ); and
Information withheld under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the Act relates to detailed cost breakdowns of
expected project elements, such as the project cashflow forecast, indicative estimates al ocated to
property, consultant, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) managed costs, physical works,
escalation and admin expenses, anticipated construction contract types, and the recommended
procurement approach.
Services to deliver these elements are yet to be procured. Releasing this information would be likely to
prejudice or disadvantage the agency’s ability to carry out its commercial activity of procuring services
and works through a competitive market process, by signalling internal cost expectations and
parameters that tenderers could use to shape bids. It is in the public interest that competitive rates are
able to be secured for these services when NZTA goes out to the open market for tender.
b. Who has provided information in confidence that is being withheld under each instance
of 9(2)(ba)(i ); and
c. What is the damage to the public interest envisaged by NZTA for each instance of
information withheld under 9(2)(ba)(i ); and
Information that is being withheld under section 9(2)(ba)(i ) is information that wil be provided to the
NZTA Board when seeking approval for funding and to proceed to the next stage of the project, as
well as in relation to tolling, as Board approval is required prior to seeking Ministerial approval to
consult on tolling. There is a shared understanding between those who develop advice for funding
approvals and the NZTA Board that advice is kept confidential until such time as it has been
considered by the Board. It is in the wider public interest for the Board to have a period to consider the
advice, in confidence, before it is disclosed publicly. The premature release of the advice wil prejudice
the ability of the Board to give undisturbed consideration to the advice and to any funding decisions.
d. Which persons or companies is NZTA negotiating with, or contemplating negotiating
with, for each instance of information withheld under 9(2)(j).
NZTA is yet to go out for public tender to procure services required to deliver the project, and is unable
to confirm what companies it is anticipating negotiating with for these services. This wil be subject to a
tender process by which parties wil submit an expression of interest outlining their experience and
skil s for required services.
3. Please provide me with an unredacted copy of the document entitled: ‘Petone to Grenada
RoNZ Investment Case July 2025’.
The document you have requested is publicly available on the NZTA website at:
https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/petone-to-grenada/petone-to-grenada-investment-case-main-
report.pdf. The information withheld from the published document continues to apply under the
following sections of the Act:
2
• 9(2)(b)(ii) – to protect information where the making available of the information would be
likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is
the subject of the information.
• 9(2)(ba)(ii) – to protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any
person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment,
where the making available of the information would be likely otherwise to damage the public
interest.
• 9(2)(f)(iv) – to maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the
confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials.
• 9(2)(g)(i) - maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank
expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of an
organisation or officers and employees of any department or organisation in the course of their
duty.
• 9(2)(h) – to maintain legal professional privilege
• 9(2)(j) – to enable a Minister of the Crown or any department or organisation holding the
information to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial
and industrial negotiations).
4. In the partial y redacted document cited in (3) above, information is withheld in reliance on a
number of OIA provisions including: 9(2)(b)(i ) [pages 25, 28], 9(2)(ba)(i ) [pages 19, 24, 25,
27, 29, 30], and 9(2)(j) [pages 22, 23, 32]. For each instance of withholding, please provide
me with details of:
a. Whose commercial interests are being protected under each instance of withholding
under 9(2)(b)(i ); and
b. Who has provided information in confidence that is being withheld under each instance
of 9(2)(ba)(i ); and
c. What is the damage to the public interest envisaged by NZTA for each instance of
information withheld under 9(2)(ba)(i ); and
d. Which persons or companies is NZTA negotiating with, or contemplating negotiating
with, for each instance of information withheld under 9(2)(j).
Please refer to my responses above.
5. Page 35 of the document cited in (3) above has a subheading ‘Mana Whenua’. One bul et
point under this heading reads “Begin broader engagement early with relevant iwi entities and
wider iwi membership”. Please provide the names of mana whenua organisations or Rangatira
that NZTA has met with, the dates of those meetings and copies of the notes or documents
held by NZTA recording the discussion at those meetings.
The project is in the process of establishing a Mana Whenua Steering Group to provide ongoing
governance and advisory support to the project. Broader engagement with iwi has not yet
commenced. I am therefore refusing your request for this information under section 18(e) of the Act,
as the information requested does not exist, or despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found.
6. The dates of all meetings since 1 January 2016 between employees, contractors or board
members of NZTA and directors, employees or representatives of Lincolnshire Farms.
The Petone to Grenada project was previously considered by NZTA before being paused in 2018. The
project was reintroduced as part of the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme and
included in the Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS) in June 2024. An email sweep
3
was undertaken to identify meetings that may have occurred during the previous consideration for the
project.
This sweep identified one meeting that was held on 19 December 2017.
Since the project was re-introduced in June 2024, meetings have occurred with representatives of
Lincolnshire Farms on the following dates:
• 2 April 2025
• 3 November 2025
• 23 February 2026
• 12 March 2026.
With respect to the information that has been withheld, I do not consider there are any other factors
which would render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to
withhold some information and partially refuse your request. The contact details for the Ombudsman
can be located at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
In line with NZTA policy, this response wil soon be published on our website, with personal
information removed.
If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA, please contact Ministerial Services by email to
[NZTA request email].
Yours sincerely
Josh Driscol
Manager – Ministerial Services
4
