Advice on mining protest ban
Alex Harris made this Official Information request to Minister of Energy and Resources
The request was partially successful.
From: Alex Harris
Dear Minister of Energy and Resources,
On 31 March 2013 you announced new measures to outlaw protests against mining ("Moves to strengthen protection of offshore activity"). I would like to request the following information under the OIA:
* all advice and communications received on the proposed mining protest ban. I am particularly interested in finding out where this idea came from, so I am seeking not just communications from within government, but particularly those from outside government at the beginning of the policy process.
I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the fyi.org.nz website.
With regards to s12 of the OIA, I am an NZ citizen and in NZ.
Yours faithfully,
Alex Harris
From: Alex Harris
Dear Minister of Energy and Resources,
My OIA request appears to be overdue. Can you confirm that it was received?
Yours faithfully,
Alex Harris
From: S Bridges (MIN)
Minister of Energy and Resources
On behalf of Hon Simon Bridges, thank you for your email. The Minister
considers all correspondence to be important.
Please note that although email may increase the speed of delivery, due to
the “behind the scenes” workings of the Minister’s staff required in
responding to emails, it is not always possible to provide the kind of
speedy response users of emails may anticipate.
If this is a portfolio or constituent matter, your email will be responded
to in due course.
If you are expressing a personal view, thank you for taking the time to
write and please be assured that your comments have been noted.
Yours sincerely
Office of Hon Simon Bridges
Hon Simon Bridges
MP for Tauranga
Minister of Energy and Resources
Minister of Labour
Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues
Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160 | New Zealand
[1]www.simonbridges.co.nz | [2]www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp |
[3]www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
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From: Cameron Oldfield
Minister of Energy and Resources
Dear Mr Harris
On behalf of Hon Simon Bridges, Minister for Energy and Resources, thank
you for your email.
Our office has no record of receiving your Official Information Act
request. If you wish to send your request through again, we will treat it
with urgency and provide a reply as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Cameron
Cameron Oldfield | Ministerial Secretary | Office of Hon Simon Bridges |
MP for Tauranga
Minister of Energy and Resources | Minister of Labour | Associate Minister
for Climate Change Issues
4.1R Beehive | Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160
| New Zealand
[1]www.simonbridges.co.nz | [2]www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp |
[3]www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
show quoted sections
From: Alex Harris
Dear Cameron Oldfield,
Thanks. I suspected as much - FYI hadn't updated Ministerial email addresses to reflect changes in Cabinet. As the problem is on my end, there's no need for urgency, and I'm happy for it to take the usual 20 working days from (new) receipt.
My request is attached below:
--
Dear Minister of Energy and Resources,
On 31 March 2013 you announced new measures to outlaw protests against mining ("Moves to strengthen protection of offshore activity"). I would like to request the following information under
the OIA:
* all advice and communications received on the proposed mining protest ban. I am particularly interested in finding out where this idea came from, so I am seeking not just communications from within
government, but particularly those from outside government at the beginning of the policy process.
I would prefer to receive an electronic response. Queries about this request will be automatically forwarded to me by the fyi.org.nz website.
With regards to s12 of the OIA, I am an NZ citizen and in NZ.
Yours faithfully,
Alex Harris
From: Cameron Oldfield
Minister of Energy and Resources
Dear Mr Harris
Please see attached an acknowledgement of your OIA request received 3 May
2013.
Kind regards,
Cameron
Cameron Oldfield | Ministerial Secretary | Office of Hon Simon Bridges |
MP for Tauranga
Minister of Energy and Resources | Minister of Labour | Associate Minister
for Climate Change Issues
4.1R Beehive | Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160
| New Zealand
[1]www.simonbridges.co.nz | [2]www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp |
[3]www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
show quoted sections
From: Cameron Oldfield
Minister of Energy and Resources
Dear Mr Harris
Please see the attached letter regarding your OIA request received 3 May
2013.
Kind regards,
Cameron
Cameron Oldfield | Ministerial Secretary | Office of Hon Simon Bridges |
MP for Tauranga
Minister of Energy and Resources | Minister of Labour | Associate Minister
for Climate Change Issues
4.1R Beehive | Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160
| New Zealand
[1]www.simonbridges.co.nz | [2]www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp |
[3]www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
show quoted sections
From: Cameron Oldfield
Minister of Energy and Resources
Dear Mr Harris
Please see attached a response to your OIA request.
Kind regards,
Cameron
Cameron Oldfield | Ministerial Secretary | Office of Hon Simon Bridges |
MP for Tauranga
Minister of Energy and Resources | Minister of Labour | Associate Minister
for Climate Change Issues
4.1R Beehive | Private Bag 18041 | Parliament Buildings | Wellington 6160
| New Zealand
[1]www.simonbridges.co.nz | [2]www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp |
[3]www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. http://www.simonbridges.co.nz/
2. http://www.facebook.com/simonbridgesmp
3. http://www.twitter.com/simonjbridges
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Joshua Grainger left an annotation ()
The Minister makes the mistake that most authorities make of simply stating s9(2)(g)(i) and s9(2)(f)(iv) as grounds to withhold without justifying exactly why.
As regards s9(2)(f)(iv): the Ombudsman has adopted a strict view that the prupose of this section is to allow a Minister to consider advice. To quote Ombudsman Elwood: 'once government policy decisions have been made and announced, the advice tendered in the policy making process does not require ongoing protection except in exceptional circumstances' [From casenote W39361]. Here, the decision has already been made. The legislation has been introduced. The exceptional circumstances that requires withholding has not been justified. It seems entirely erroneous to withhold the information without explaining why.
As regards s9(2)(g)(i): the purpose of this ground was identified in Casenote 23 as protecting "those especially frank opinions which only the assurance of complete confidentiality induces". This requirement of being "especially frank" I would find hard to meet for some of the information withheld in there: in particular the NZBORA vet information in the email of the 23rd of March. NZBORA vets are almost always released, and so they are prepared in order to withstand outside scrutiny.
Finally, the public interest test does not appear to have been applied here. I would argue that there is a very strong public interest in releasing the Bill of Rights information that was withheld from the email of the 23rd of March. Decisions that touch upon human rights have a strong public interest in being justified, given New Zealand's domestic and international obligations to protect human rights.
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