Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/18687-changes-to-mask-face-covering-requirements on October 31, 2025 14:03

Changes to mask/face covering requirements

Jeremy Nimmo made this Official Information request to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

The request was refused by Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

From: Jeremy Nimmo

I have been informed by the Ministry of Health that the changes to face covering requirements that imposed additional costs on poor and working-class New Zealanders were not actually motivated by public health concerns (c.f. https://fyi.org.nz/request/18410-changes... ).

They have suggested that they have forwarded a request to you for all communications, advice, reports, notes, agendas,
meeting attendance lists, minutes, and decision documents relating to:
1) The decision to ban the use of bandanas and other facial coverings that
can be utilized at low or no cost for protection in areas where masks are
required, as an equivalent substitute for commercial masks, despite the
fact that numerous scientific studies have proven they are more effective
than the masks the MoH suggests citizens buy from Foodstuffs and
Woolworths (c.f.doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.8168).

This should particularly include communications with agencies such as the
NZ Police lobbying against facial coverings for non-medical reasons, or
commercial entities seeking to lobby for changes to mask requirements.

You should confirm the receipt of this request.

Link to this

From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Tēnā koe 

 

Thank you for emailing the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet (DPMC), including the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA).   

Please note, DPMC is not able to respond to emails that are
outside its purview. If the subject of your email does not relate to the
work of DPMC, we will forward your email to the appropriate Minister
or agency who will respond to you directly. To find out more about the
functions of DPMC please view our website - [1]https://dpmc.govt.nz/ 

 

If your correspondence is intended for the Prime Minister please email her
office at - [2][email address]. Contact information for other
Members of Parliament can be found at
- [3]https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involve...

If you are writing about an issue relating to COVID-19, we encourage you
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If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, please call your local GP or
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Common Questions:

* Official Information Act (OIA) Requests will be formally acknowledged
during office hours and actioned accordingly. For more information
about the statutory OIA timeframes please see
- [13]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.
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We hope one of the above links helps answer your question.  

We appreciate your patience at this time. Thanks again and please take
care.

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Link to this

From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

[IN-CONFIDENCE]

Kia ora

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 which was received on Friday, 25 February 2022, copied below. A response will be provided in accordance with the Act.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) may publish the response to your Official Information Act (OIA) request.

When you are provided with a response to this request, you will be informed about whether the response to your OIA request will be published. If DPMC does publish the response to your OIA request, personal information, including your name and contact details, will be removed. This publication process does not apply to extension letters or transfers.

Ngā mihi,

Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial and Business Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

E    [DPMC request email]

The information contained in this email message is for the attention of the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.

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Link to this

From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Attachment image001.png
24K Download

Attachment DPMCOIA Reply OIA 2021 22 1041 Nimmo Advice on Face Coverings Jeremy Nimmo.pdf
140K Download View as HTML

 

 

[UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Kia ora koe,

 

Please see the attached letter regarding your recent OIA request.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial and Business Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E    [1][DPMC request email]
 
 
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]

Link to this

From: Jeremy Nimmo

Dear Information [DPMC],

It has been two months since the arbitrary change was made. When do you purport this information will be released?

Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Nimmo

Link to this

From: Jeremy Nimmo

Dear Information [DPMC],

You have not released any information related to my actual question on the page indicated in your response. Indeed, there have been no 'proactive releases' related to the ban on face coverings that are at least as efficacious as non-medical masks in 2022.

I see, however, that you have on Friday posted a 'response' sent in 2020, which you never actually sent to me, claiming that it is responsive to my inquiry.
https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/respon...
This then links to the following WHO advice, which explicitly does not discourage the use of more effective bandannas and other face coverings as opposed to rudimentary non-medical masks.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/...(2019-ncov)-outbreak

This is obviously not a minimally adequate response to my inquiry. I don't know if you're stupid, lazy, or maliciously non-compliant, but I will have to consider the latter if you don't send an actual response by the close of business tomorrow.

Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Nimmo

Link to this

From: Information [DPMC]
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Attachment image001.png
24K Download

Attachment FW Your OIA Request A Response.txt
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Attachment FW Your OIA Request A Response.txt
3K Download View as HTML

Attachment DPMCOIA Reply OIA 2021 22 1041 Nimmo Advice on Face Coverings Jeremy Nimmo.pdf
140K Download View as HTML

[UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Kia ora Jeremy,

 

Thank you for your follow-up emails of 23 and 27 March 2022 regarding your
request.

 

Please find attached a copy of our response to your request for reference.

 

As per our response, the Cabinet paper COVID-19 Protection Framework:
Updates to Red settings was found to be within scope of your request.

 

We advised that this Cabinet paper will be published on Unite Against
COVID-19 website shortly. There are various steps involved prior to the
publication of information on the website including the assessment and
preparation of the information for release and consultation with relevant
parties.

 

The document is awaiting final approvals before we can prepare it for
publishing. We are working towards it being published around mid-April.

 

As advised, the document will be released on the Unite Against COVID-19
website:

[1]covid19.govt.nz/about-our-covid-19-response/proactive-releases.

 

This is the central repository for COVID-19 related releases, as opposed
to the DPMC website referenced in your email.

 

The link provided in your email dated 27 March 2022 links to a
published Official Information Act reply. This response was published on
23 April
2021: [2]dpmc.govt.nz/publications/response-official-information-act-request-oia-202021-0214-request-relating-covid-19.
It is not connected to the material referenced in your request.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Ministerial Coordinator
Ministerial and Business Services
Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
E    [3][DPMC request email]
 
 
The information contained in this email message is for the attention of
the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view or
communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy or distribute
this message or the information in it. If you have received this message
in error, please destroy the email and notify the sender immediately.

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. https://covid19.govt.nz/about-our-covid-...
2. https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/respon...
https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/respon...
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]

Link to this

From: Jeremy Nimmo

Dear Information [DPMC],

Your (late) release of the 'COVID-19 Protection Framework: Updates to Red settings' paper is not responsive to the original request.

Facial coverings such as balaclavas and other similiarly secure face coverings are obviously far more secure than those that simply
"attach to the head either via an ear loop or head loop"

Unless the changes to policy made on the basis of this paper were implemented by extreme incompetents, this does not explain why such face coverings were banned. Please stop stalling and disclose communications, advice, reports, notes, agendas,meeting attendance lists, minutes, and decision documents related to this policy change.

Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Nimmo

Link to this

Things to do with this request

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