UNCLASSIFIED
16 July 2026
[OIA309]
Penny Claridge
[FYI request #34797 email]
Dear Penny Claridge
Thank you for your email of 29 May 2026 to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
(DPMC) in which you requested information under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). On
17 June 2026 the following parts of your request were transferred from DPMC to this Office
under section 14(b) of the OIA for response:
“Any papers, briefings, agendas, or records of decisions from the Cabinet National
Security Committee or any Cabinet committee that address the implications of the New
Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement for New Zealand's national security or biosecurity,
specifically including any discussion of pharmaceutical supply chain resilience or
emergency vaccine procurement, during the period 1 January 2024 to 26 April 2026.”
Any DPMC or Cabinet records that address New Zealand's obligations or commitments
under GAVI's co-financing or support agreements, and whether those commitments
were considered during NZ-India FTA negotiations, during the period 1 January 2024 to
26 April 2026.”
Response to your request
You may wish to refer to the publicly available National Interest Analysis (pages 45-46), here:
www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-agreements/NZ-India-FTA/NZ-India-FTA-National-Interest-
Analysis-NIA.pdf.
The current operative legal framework, including any Cabinet decisions, Director-
General of Health directions, or emergency health legislation provisions, that would
govern vaccine procurement and authorisation in New Zealand in the event of a
declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World
Health Organization specifically:
a. The process by which the Director-General of Health can authorise emergency
vaccine procurement outside normal Pharmac competitive tender processes.
The Cabinet paper
New Zealand-India FTA: Approval of Final Outcomes and Approval to Sign
which contains pharmaceutical and medical device annexes
wil be published on the Ministry
of Foreign Af airs and Trade’s website as part of that agency’s proactive release of formal
advice relating to the India-New Zeland Free Trade Agreement. This wil be available via the
following link:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-
concluded-but-not-in-force/new-zealand-india-free-trade-agreement/resources
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
There is no information any material taken to Cabinet by this Office relating to the India-New
Zealand Free Trade Agreement that reference’s GAVI's co-financing or support agreements.
Therefore that part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the OIA, as the information
does not exist.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision by
contacting
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Warm regards,
Hon Todd McClay
Minister for Trade and Investment
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