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Kia ora,

Thank you for contacting Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister of Justice, Minister
for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Minister for Media and Communications and
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.

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Office of Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister of Justice| Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage | Minister
for Media and Communications | Minister for Treaty of Waitangi
Negotiations

Freepost: Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6011

Good afternoon,

 

On behalf of Hon Paul Goldsmith, I acknowledge receipt of your official
information request dated 29 May, where you requested the following:

 

This request explicitly relates to:

 

The Minister’s public statement referring to “49,000 fewer victims of
serious crime”, and

 

The Minister’s response to OIA reference OIAPG878, dated 28 May 2026.

 

For clarity, this request seeks documents, not explanations or opinions.

 

1. Documents underpinning the “49,000 fewer victims of serious crime”
claim Please provide:

 

All briefing papers, aide memoires, reports, or written advice provided to
the Minister or his office that contain, reference, or support the
statement “49,000 fewer victims of serious crime.”

 

All data tables, spreadsheets, extracts, or datasets supplied by Police,
the Ministry of Justice, Stats NZ, or any other agency that were used to
derive the figure.

 

All definitions of “serious crime” used in the calculation, including any
classification lists, category groupings, or internal definitions.

 

All emails, messages, or correspondence between the Minister, his office,
and officials relating to the preparation, checking, or approval of the
“49,000” statistic.

 

All internal communications within the Minister’s office discussing the
statistic, its accuracy, or its public presentation.

 

2. Calculation and methodology used to derive the figure Please provide:

 

The exact calculation formula used to derive “49,000 fewer victims of
serious crime.”

 

The baseline years used for comparison.

 

The crime categories included and excluded in the calculation.

 

The raw victim numbers for each year used in the comparison.

 

3. Documents relating to the refusal of OIAPG878 This section directly
concerns the Minister’s response to OIAPG878, in which the request was
refused under s18(g) on the basis that the questions were “rhetorical.”

 

Please provide:

 

All internal advice received by the Minister or his office regarding the
classification of the questions in OIAPG878 as “rhetorical.”

 

All legal advice relating to the decision to refuse OIAPG878 under s18(g).

 

All drafts of the Minister’s response to OIAPG878, including any
tracked‑changes versions or internal comments.

 

All communications within the Minister’s office discussing how OIAPG878
should be handled, assessed, or responded to.

 

4. Cabinet Manual and accuracy‑assurance processes Please provide:

 

All documents showing how the Minister’s public statement was checked for
accuracy in accordance with Cabinet Manual requirements.

 

All accuracy‑assurance processes, sign‑off procedures, or internal quality
checks applied to the “49,000” statistic before it was used publicly.

 

5. Administrative matters

If any part of this request is believed to be too broad, please process
each numbered item independently under s12(2) and s13 of the Act.

 

If any information is withheld, please specify:

 

the section of the Act relied upon, and

 

the reasons why the withholding ground applies.

 

If any information is not held, please confirm whether it is held by:

 

New Zealand Police

 

Ministry of Justice

 

Stats NZ

 

Any other agency

 

and transfer the relevant parts under s14.

 

I am happy to receive the information in electronic form.

 

We received your request on 29 May. We will endeavour to respond to your
request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 29 June, being
20 working days after the day your request was received.

 

If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of
an extension of that timeframe.

 

Kind Regards,

 

[1]A blue and Office of Hon Paul Goldsmith
white emblem
Description Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage | Minister of Justice
automatically
generated Minister for Media and Communications | Minister for Pacific
Peoples

Minister for the Public Service and Digitising Government

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 

Email [2][Paul Goldsmith request email] | [3]www.beehive.govt.nz
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New
Zealand

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Nigel Gray <[FYI request #34801 email]>
Sent: Friday, 29 May 2026 3:43 pm
To: Paul Goldsmith (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: OIAPG915 / Official Information request - Documents Relating to
“49,000 Fewer Victims of Serious Crime” and the Refusal of OIAPG878

 

To: Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister of Justice

From: Nigel Gray

Date: 29 May 2026

Subject: Official Information Act Request – Documents Relating to “49,000
Fewer Victims of Serious Crime” and the Refusal of OIAPG878

 

Dear Paul Goldsmith,

Official Information Act 1982 Request

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following
information.

 

This request explicitly relates to:

 

The Minister’s public statement referring to “49,000 fewer victims of
serious crime”, and

 

The Minister’s response to OIA reference OIAPG878, dated 28 May 2026.

 

For clarity, this request seeks documents, not explanations or opinions.

 

1. Documents underpinning the “49,000 fewer victims of serious crime”
claim Please provide:

 

All briefing papers, aide memoires, reports, or written advice provided to
the Minister or his office that contain, reference, or support the
statement “49,000 fewer victims of serious crime.”

 

All data tables, spreadsheets, extracts, or datasets supplied by Police,
the Ministry of Justice, Stats NZ, or any other agency that were used to
derive the figure.

 

All definitions of “serious crime” used in the calculation, including any
classification lists, category groupings, or internal definitions.

 

All emails, messages, or correspondence between the Minister, his office,
and officials relating to the preparation, checking, or approval of the
“49,000” statistic.

 

All internal communications within the Minister’s office discussing the
statistic, its accuracy, or its public presentation.

 

2. Calculation and methodology used to derive the figure Please provide:

 

The exact calculation formula used to derive “49,000 fewer victims of
serious crime.”

 

The baseline years used for comparison.

 

The crime categories included and excluded in the calculation.

 

The raw victim numbers for each year used in the comparison.

 

3. Documents relating to the refusal of OIAPG878 This section directly
concerns the Minister’s response to OIAPG878, in which the request was
refused under s18(g) on the basis that the questions were “rhetorical.”

 

Please provide:

 

All internal advice received by the Minister or his office regarding the
classification of the questions in OIAPG878 as “rhetorical.”

 

All legal advice relating to the decision to refuse OIAPG878 under s18(g).

 

All drafts of the Minister’s response to OIAPG878, including any
tracked‑changes versions or internal comments.

 

All communications within the Minister’s office discussing how OIAPG878
should be handled, assessed, or responded to.

 

4. Cabinet Manual and accuracy‑assurance processes Please provide:

 

All documents showing how the Minister’s public statement was checked for
accuracy in accordance with Cabinet Manual requirements.

 

All accuracy‑assurance processes, sign‑off procedures, or internal quality
checks applied to the “49,000” statistic before it was used publicly.

 

5. Administrative matters

If any part of this request is believed to be too broad, please process
each numbered item independently under s12(2) and s13 of the Act.

 

If any information is withheld, please specify:

 

the section of the Act relied upon, and

 

the reasons why the withholding ground applies.

 

If any information is not held, please confirm whether it is held by:

 

New Zealand Police

 

Ministry of Justice

 

Stats NZ

 

Any other agency

 

and transfer the relevant parts under s14.

 

I am happy to receive the information in electronic form.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Nigel Gray

 

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