Communications with Lobbyists
Liam Williams made this Official Information request to Minister of Finance
The request was refused by Minister of Finance.
From: Liam Williams
Dear Hon Bill English,
I wish to test assertion often made in opposition to the Lobbying Disclosure Bill; specifically, that a register of lobbyists is superfluous to the information already freely available under the Official Information Act 1982.
In accordance with my objective, I would like to request all
information held (including the Minister diary) in relation to:
All instances between 1–31 May 2013 where the Minister met or otherwise conversed with parties who engaged in lobbying activity.
For the purpose of this request, “lobbying activity” should be considered to mean:
Communication between the Minister and any party (the lobbyist) who is paid to represent the views of any person, company, firm or organisation (the client), where:
The principal purpose of the communication was to convey the client party’s view on the state or development of:
any legislative proposal, Bill, Act, regulation, amendment, policy,programme, or the awarding of grants, funding, contracts, or any other financial benefit which falls under the auspices of the Government of New Zealand to allocate.
For each instance of “lobbying activity”, I would like to know:
-The name and business address of the lobbyist-The name and business address of the represented client
-The subject matter(s) discussed
-The name and business address of the client and any person or body
that controls or directs the activities of the client and has a
direct interest in the outcome of the activities undertaken on
behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company, the name and business address of each subsidiary of the company that has a direct interest in the outcome of the activities undertaken on behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company that is a subsidiary of another company, the name and business address of that other company
-Where the client is a coalition, the name and address of each person or body that is a member of that coalition
-Particulars to identify the subject-matter in respect of which the lobbying activity was undertaken
-Particulars to identify the communication technique used to
communicate with a public office holder (e.g.: telephone
conversation, internet conference etc.)
I appreciate that this is a significant request, involving multiple parties, events and resources. I would be grateful for efforts made to provide the requested information. Please contact me if you have any queries.
Yours faithfully,
Liam Williams
From: B English (MIN)
Minister of Finance
On behalf of Hon Bill English, thank you for your email.
Please be assured that all correspondence is read and noted by this
office. Where the Minister has portfolio or MP for Clutha-Southland
responsibilities for the issues raised, a response will be sent to you in
due course.
While the Minister considers all correspondence to be important, if your
email falls outside of his portfolio or electorate responsibilities, or
expresses a personal view, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office or there may be no
further response to you.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
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From: B English (MIN)
Minister of Finance
Dear Liam Williams
On behalf of the Hon Bill English, Minister of Finance, I acknowledge receipt of your letter of 11 July 2013 requesting information about communications with lobbyists.
Your request was received in this office on 11 July 2013 and will be responded to under the provisions of the Official Information Act.
Yours sincerely
Katy Greco-Ainslie
Private Secretary
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or make use of its contents. If received in error you are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is appreciated.
-----Original Message-----
From: Liam Williams [mailto:[OIA #992 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 11 July 2013 12:17 p.m.
To: B English (MIN)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Communications with Lobbyists
Dear Hon Bill English,
I wish to test assertion often made in opposition to the Lobbying
Disclosure Bill; specifically, that a register of lobbyists is
superfluous to the information already freely available under the
Official Information Act 1982.
In accordance with my objective, I would like to request all
information held (including the Minister diary) in relation to:
All instances between 1–31 May 2013 where the Minister met or
otherwise conversed with parties who engaged in lobbying activity.
For the purpose of this request, “lobbying activity” should be
considered to mean:
Communication between the Minister and any party (the lobbyist) who
is paid to represent the views of any person, company, firm or
organisation (the client), where:
The principal purpose of the communication was to convey the client
party’s view on the state or development of:
any legislative proposal, Bill, Act, regulation, amendment,
policy,programme, or the awarding of grants, funding, contracts, or
any other financial benefit which falls under the auspices of the
Government of New Zealand to allocate.
For each instance of “lobbying activity”, I would like to know:
-The name and business address of the lobbyist-The name and
business address of the represented client
-The subject matter(s) discussed
-The name and business address of the client and any person or body
that controls or directs the activities of the client and has a
direct interest in the outcome of the activities undertaken on
behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company, the name and business address of
each subsidiary of the company that has a direct interest in the
outcome of the activities undertaken on behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company that is a subsidiary of another
company, the name and business address of that other company
-Where the client is a coalition, the name and address of each
person or body that is a member of that coalition
-Particulars to identify the subject-matter in respect of which the
lobbying activity was undertaken
-Particulars to identify the communication technique used to
communicate with a public office holder (e.g.: telephone
conversation, internet conference etc.)
I appreciate that this is a significant request, involving multiple
parties, events and resources. I would be grateful for efforts made
to provide the requested information. Please contact me if you have
any queries.
Yours faithfully,
Liam Williams
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________
hide quoted sections
From: B English (MIN)
Minister of Finance
Letter from Hon Bill English, Minister of Finance attached.
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and intended for the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or make use of its contents. If received in error you are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is appreciated.
-----Original Message-----
From: Liam Williams [mailto:[OIA #992 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 11 July 2013 12:17 p.m.
To: B English (MIN)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Communications with Lobbyists
Dear Hon Bill English,
I wish to test assertion often made in opposition to the Lobbying
Disclosure Bill; specifically, that a register of lobbyists is
superfluous to the information already freely available under the
Official Information Act 1982.
In accordance with my objective, I would like to request all
information held (including the Minister diary) in relation to:
All instances between 1–31 May 2013 where the Minister met or
otherwise conversed with parties who engaged in lobbying activity.
For the purpose of this request, “lobbying activity” should be
considered to mean:
Communication between the Minister and any party (the lobbyist) who
is paid to represent the views of any person, company, firm or
organisation (the client), where:
The principal purpose of the communication was to convey the client
party’s view on the state or development of:
any legislative proposal, Bill, Act, regulation, amendment,
policy,programme, or the awarding of grants, funding, contracts, or
any other financial benefit which falls under the auspices of the
Government of New Zealand to allocate.
For each instance of “lobbying activity”, I would like to know:
-The name and business address of the lobbyist-The name and
business address of the represented client
-The subject matter(s) discussed
-The name and business address of the client and any person or body
that controls or directs the activities of the client and has a
direct interest in the outcome of the activities undertaken on
behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company, the name and business address of
each subsidiary of the company that has a direct interest in the
outcome of the activities undertaken on behalf of the client
-Where the client is a company that is a subsidiary of another
company, the name and business address of that other company
-Where the client is a coalition, the name and address of each
person or body that is a member of that coalition
-Particulars to identify the subject-matter in respect of which the
lobbying activity was undertaken
-Particulars to identify the communication technique used to
communicate with a public office holder (e.g.: telephone
conversation, internet conference etc.)
I appreciate that this is a significant request, involving multiple
parties, events and resources. I would be grateful for efforts made
to provide the requested information. Please contact me if you have
any queries.
Yours faithfully,
Liam Williams
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.
Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your
web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________
hide quoted sections
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence