I am making this request under the Official Information Act 1982.

I request the following information held by Office of the Prime Minister, covering the period 1 January 2025 to the date of this request:

1. All communications (including emails, text messages, WhatsApp / Signal / other messaging app correspondence, letters, briefings, file notes, meeting minutes, and diary entries) between staff of Office of the Prime Minister and any of the following parties, where the subject matter relates to the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement or to the promotion, amplification, or social media coverage of statements by the Prime Minister or the Minister for Trade and Investment regarding India or the FTA:

a. Social media influencers, content creators, or operators of social media accounts (including but not limited to accounts on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and WhatsApp);

b. Public relations, communications, marketing, or digital strategy firms or consultants;

c. Media organisations, journalists, or media-buying agencies based in India or primarily serving Indian audiences;

d. Diaspora organisations, community groups, or business councils with a focus on India–New Zealand relations;

e. Officials, agencies, or representatives of the Government of India (including the Indian High Commission to New Zealand, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry) where those communications relate to social media activity, content sharing, or coordinated promotion;

f. Any third party engaged or paid (whether by [agency], by another government agency, or by a contracted intermediary) to promote, amplify, share, retweet, like, or otherwise increase the reach of social media content concerning the India FTA.

2. Any contracts, statements of work, purchase orders, invoices, or financial records relating to the engagement of any party for the purpose of social media amplification, influencer marketing, audience targeting, or coordinated promotion of messaging concerning the India FTA, including any spend on paid amplification on X/Twitter or other platforms.

3. Any internal strategy documents, communications plans, media plans, or briefings concerning the digital or social media communications strategy for the India FTA, including any analysis, monitoring, or reporting on social media engagement (e.g. retweets, likes, follower analytics) of posts by the Prime Minister or the Minister for Trade and Investment relating to India or the FTA.

4. Any correspondence with platforms (including X Corp / Twitter, Meta, Google) regarding the promotion, boosting, or analytics of posts relating to the India FTA.
For the avoidance of doubt, this request includes communications conducted on personal devices or non-government accounts where they relate to official business, in line with the Ombudsman's guidance on the OIA.

If any part of this request is considered too broad or would require substantial collation under section 18(f), I would appreciate the opportunity to refine the scope rather than have the request refused. Please contact me before invoking that section.

I would prefer to receive the information by email, in its original electronic format where possible.

I note the statutory timeframe of 20 working days under section 15(1) of the Act and look forward to your response.

Thank you for your response of 19 May 2026 (PMO OIA 786-2025-26) and for the released documents. I appreciate the PMO's engagement with the substance of the request. I have some follow-up questions.

Part 3 — nil return
The response states that no documents exist within scope of part 3 (internal strategy documents, communications plans, media plans, or briefings concerning the digital or social media communications strategy for the India FTA).

I find this difficult to reconcile with the released documents. Item 7 shows DPMC providing the PMO with what is described as a "full and final comms pack from MFAT" containing "detailed plans and scripts" for social media content, media points, Q&As, and an op-ed placement strategy. Item 3 shows PMO staff planning a professionally produced video with B-roll and specific direction on tone ("make it slick and aspirational"). Item 1 shows a PMO staffer confirming they would "plate it up for Tuesday on a fancy wee graphic."

These documents describe, reference, or implement a social media communications strategy. The comms pack referenced in Item 7 — which was sent to and received by the PMO — would appear to fall squarely within the scope of part 3. Could you please clarify:+

(a) Whether the "full and final comms pack" referenced in Item 7, including its social media plans and scripts, was searched for and considered as potentially within scope of part 3;

(b) If it was considered and excluded, on what basis — given that the PMO holds a copy of the document by virtue of having received it by email; and

(c) Whether the search for part 3 material extended beyond email to include shared drives, Teams/SharePoint, or any document management systems used by the PMO.

Section 9(2)(k) withholding
A small amount of information in Item 5 has been withheld under section 9(2)(k), which protects against unreasonable prejudice to commercial position. Could you please clarify whose commercial position is being protected, and the nature of the prejudice that would result from disclosure? The context — internal distribution of MFAT supporting materials about a government-to-government trade agreement — does not obviously engage commercial sensitivity, and several of the attached documents have been released or are publicly available.

Section 18(d) — proactive release
The response states that four documents (in Items 2, 5, and 7) are being refused under section 18(d) on the basis that they are being assessed for proactive release by MFAT. I note that section 18(d) requires that the information "is or will soon be publicly available." Could you please advise:

(a) Whether MFAT has confirmed that it will publish these documents, and if so, the expected timeframe; and

(b) If MFAT has not confirmed publication, on what basis the PMO has concluded the information "will soon be" publicly available, as distinct from being under consideration for possible future release.

If these documents are not published by MFAT within a reasonable period, I may ask the PMO to reconsider this part of the response.

Personal devices and non-government accounts
My original request expressly included communications conducted on personal devices or non-government accounts where they relate to official business. The released documents show coordination occurring across WhatsApp (referenced in Item 2: "as discussed via WhatsApp") and personal Outlook accounts.

Could you please confirm whether the search for responsive documents included personal devices and messaging accounts used by PMO staff for official business during the relevant period? I also note that where official business is conducted on informal channels, the substance of those discussions constitutes a public record under the Public Records Act 2005 and falls within scope of the OIA regardless of the platform used.