Requesting information that led to the confusion around the Matai story as reported in media
Matthew Tetley made this Official Information request to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Matthew Tetley to read a recent response and update the status.
From: Matthew Tetley
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
I am writing to request information under the Official Information Act 1982 regarding the initial Christopher Luxon Matai claim as reported in the media this week.
Timeline of Events:
Please provide a detailed timeline of events related to the Prime Minister's Matai claim, including all significant dates and actions taken by relevant agencies.
Involved Agencies:
Specifically, I request information about the roles and communications of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and the High Commissioner to Samoa concerning the initial Matai claim.
Documentation:
Any documents, reports, minutes from meetings, or correspondence that relate to the claim across the mentioned agencies.
Decision-Making Process:
Information regarding the decision-making processes by DPMC, MFAT, and the High Commissioner to Samoa concerning this claim, including any policies or guidelines that were followed.
Public Interest Consideration:
If any part of this information request is denied, please provide justification for the refusal and outline any public interest considerations that were taken into account.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your timely response as stipulated under the Official Information Act.
Kind regards,
Matthew Tetley
From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for emailing the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
(DPMC). This is an automatic reply to let you know that your message has
been received.
DPMC cannot respond to emails that are outside its scope. If the subject
of your email does not relate to the work of DPMC, we may forward your
email to the appropriate Minister or agency who will respond to you
directly. To find out more about DPMC's functions please view our
website [1]https://dpmc.govt.nz.
If your correspondence is intended for the Prime Minister please email his
office at [email address]. Contact information for
other Members of Parliament can be found at
[2]https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involve....
Common questions:
Official Information Act (OIA) requests will be formally acknowledged
during office hours and actioned accordingly. For more information about
the statutory OIA timeframes please see
[3]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.
For job opportunities within DPMC see
[4]https://centralagenciesjobs.cass.govt.nz... use this
website to apply for vacancies. Resumes received through other avenues
will not be considered.
New Zealand visas and requests for asylum are managed by Immigration New
Zealand. Please see [5]https://www.immigration.govt.nz/.
We hope one of the above links helps answer your question.
Kind regards,
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
Link: [6]File-List
Link: [7]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [8]themeData
Link: [9]colorSchemeMapping
show quoted sections
From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Kia ora,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA)
received on 20 March 2026, copied below. We will respond to your request
within the statutory timeframes set out in the Act. If we are unable to
meet these timeframes we will notify you.
Your request will be managed by the Ministerial Services team within DPMC.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us at
[1][DPMC request email].
DPMC may publish the response to your OIA request. If we publish the
response your personal information, including your name and contact
details, will be removed.
Ngā mihi,
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [2][DPMC request email]
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
show quoted sections
From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[UNCLASSIFIED]
Kia ora,
Please see the attached letter regarding your recent OIA request.
Ngā mihi,
Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E [1][DPMC request email]
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
Link: [2]File-List
Link: [3]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [4]themeData
Link: [5]colorSchemeMapping
show quoted sections
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. file:///tmp/Signature_files/filelist.xml
3. file:///tmp/Signature_files/editdata.mso
4. file:///tmp/Signature_files/themedata.thmx
5. file:///tmp/Signature_files/colorschememapping.xml
6. file:///tmp/Signature_files/filelist.xml
7. file:///tmp/Signature_files/editdata.mso
8. file:///tmp/Signature_files/themedata.thmx
9. file:///tmp/Signature_files/colorschememapping.xml
From: Sarah Boyle
From: ESD
[UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Kia ora Matthew Tetley
Thank you for your OIA request which was partially transferred from the
Office of Rt Hon Christopher Luxon on 30 March 2026 for:
Involved Agencies:
[2] Specifically, I request information about the roles and communications
of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and the High Commissioner to Samoa
concerning the initial Matai claim.
Documentation:
[3] Any documents, reports, minutes from meetings, or correspondence that
relate to the claim across the mentioned agencies.
Decision-Making Process:
[4] Information regarding the decision-making processes by DPMC, MFAT, and
the High Commissioner to Samoa concerning this claim, including any
policies or guidelines that were followed..”
This email confirms receipt of your request and advises that we will
respond to it as soon as reasonably practicable, and in terms of the
timeframes and requirements of the OIA.
Please note that our response letter to you (with your personal details
redacted), and any enclosed documents, may be published on the Ministry’s
website.
Ngâ mihi
Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere
The information contained in this email message is intended only for the
addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the
Ministry. It may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or
the information in it as this may be unlawful. If you have received this
message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately ..
UNCLASSIFIED
From: Matthew Tetley
Dear ESD,
it appears that the letter meant to be attached was not added
Yours sincerely,
Matthew T
From: ESD
[UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Kia ora Matthew,
There was no attachment to our earlier email.
The final sentence of our acknowledgement email was to notify you that when our final response to your OIA request is sent, the response letter to you (with your personal details redacted), and any enclosed documents, may be published on the Ministry’s website.
Apologies for any confusion.Ngā mihi
Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere
UNCLASSIFIED
show quoted sections
From: Sarah Boyle
MOIA Reply PMO OIA 757 2025 26 OIA 2025 26 0611 Tetley Prime Minister s Matai title Matthew Tetley FYI.org.nz 5148826.1.pdf
205K
Download
View as HTML
From: ESD
[UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Tēnā koe Matthew Tetley
We are writing in regards to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA)
request of 24 March 2026, partially transferred to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade on 30 March 2026 which asks for:
o [2] Specifically, I request information about the roles and
communications of MFAT, and the High Commissioner to Samoa concerning
the initial Matai claim.
o [3] Any documents, reports, minutes from meetings, or correspondence
that relate to the claim held by MFAT .
o [4] Information regarding the decision-making processes by MFAT, and
the High Commissioner to Samoa concerning this claim, including any
policies or guidelines that were followed.
This email is to advise that we will need to extend the time limit for
responding to you by 20 working days, to 28 May 2026. This is because:
o consultations necessary to make a decision on your request are such
that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original
time frame (section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers)
o responding to your request necessitates review of a large quantity of
information, and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably
interfere with the operations of the Ministry (section 15A(1)(a) of
the OIA refers)
However, if this process is completed before 28 May 2026, the response
will be sent to you as soon as possible.
If you have any questions, you can contact us by email at:
[1]DM‑[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and
review by the Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
[2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
Whatupūaho | Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere
show quoted sections
From: ESD
[UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Kia ora Matthew Tetley
Please see attached our response to your OIA request of 24 March 2026.
Ngā mihi
Whatupūaho | Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere
show quoted sections
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this requestAct on what you've learnt
Similar requests
abinet material on whether the NZ–India Free Trade Agreement can be renegotiated - Urgent processing requested
To Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet by Joshua Riley
Communication with the President, Vice President and Secretary of State of the United States.
To Christopher Luxon by RC