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Aaron
[FYI request #34608 email]
3 June 2026
Tēnā koe Aaron
OIA: GEMS-47981 – Individual Ministry of Education staff member and
Conflicts of Interest
Thank you for your email of 5 May 2026 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information concerning Rowan Brickell in her capacity as
Acting General Manager, Te Uepū Reo Māori:
Specifically, I request the following information for the period of March 2025 to
the date of this request:
1. Interests register: Copies of all entries in the organisation's Interests
Register relating to Rowan Brickell, including any annual or ad hoc
declarations;
2. Secondary Interests: Copies of any applications for, and approvals of,
secondary employment, or private consultancy work held by Rowan Brickell;
3. Specific Disclosures: Any written disclosures made by Rowan Brickell
regarding conflicts of interest (actual, potential or perceived), including any
with relation to Kia Ata Mai Educational Trust and Te Hua Kawariki;
4. Management Plans: Any Conflict of Interest Management Plans or Risk
Mitigation Strategies put into place to manage identified interests for Rowan
Brickell, including that of Kia Ata Mai, where I understand her sister Cath Rau
is the Director;
5. Recusals: Any records (including meeting minutes or file notes) indicating
instances where Rowan Brickell recused herself from discussions or decision-
making due to a declared interest;
6. Gifts and Hospitality: A copy of all entries in the Gifts and Hospitality
Register associated with Rowan Brickell;
7. Conversations: Any conversations where Rowan Brickell has been
mentioned or involved relating to any Ministry work and Kia Ata Mai or Te Hua
Wel ington – National Office, PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140
Phone: +64 4 463 8000
education.govt.nz
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Kawariki, including any conversations or correspondence between the Ministry
of Education and the Minister of Education's Office.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Ministry needs to extend the timeframe for responding to your request, pursuant
to section 15A(1)(a) of the Act, as the request is for a large quantity of information or
necessitates a search through a large quantity of information, and meeting the
original time limit would unreasonably interfere
with the operations of the Ministry.
You can now expect to receive a response to your request on or before 1 July 2026,
which is an extension of 20 working days.
You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision on your request, in
accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Kelly Jensen
Senior Advisor Government Executive and Ministerial Services
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
education.govt.nz
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OIA: GEMS-47981
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