Thank you for contacting Hon Simon Watts, Member of Parliament for North
Shore, Minister of Climate Change, Minister of Local Government, Minister
of Revenue and Minister for Auckland.

The Minister considers all correspondence important but as he receives a
large amount of correspondence, it is not always possible to provide a
personal response.

Please note the following guidelines:

·         If you are a North Shore constituent contacting the Minister
about an issue, then your email will be passed to his electorate office.

·         Invitations and requests to meet with the Minister will be
considered and a staff member will be in touch with you in due course. 

·         Requests for official information will be managed in accordance
with provisions of the Official Information Act 1982, which may include a
transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency. 

·         If your email falls outside of the Minister's portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, 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 once again for taking the time to write; it is very much
appreciated.

The Office of Hon Simon Watts

(Please note that this acknowledgement is an automatically generated
email.) 

Good afternoon,

 

Thank you for your email in which you submitted an Official Information
Act request as follows:

 

I would like to understand how effective the Red Tape tipline is as to
what comes to coordination between the ministers upon issues raised &
briefings received.

 

I would like to pick one issue around external wall insulation, infamously
littered with inconsistencies between local councils and overtly expensive
/ complicated process.

 

i.e.
[1]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

 

Please provide:

 

A) Briefings or formal submissions received through or by the Ministry for
Regulation relating to building consents requirement external walls
insulation.

 

I would like to understand from your point of view what you have, as the
minister for local government or energy, received from ministry of
regulation to address these regulatory redundancies in the local
government side.

 

This given local government effectively implements building act consent
process.

 

I also would like to invite the minister to provide his view on this
matter if they would like to do so publicly.

 

Minister Watts is considering your request in accordance with the Act, and
you can expect a response by 17 June 2026

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Office of Hon Simon Watts

 

Minister of Climate Change

Minister of Local Government

Minister of Revenue

Minister for Auckland

Email: [2][Simon Watts request email] | Website: [3]www.beehive.govt.nz  

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

show quoted sections

Good afternoon Miss M Quicken, 
On behalf of the Minister of Local Government, please see the attached
response to your request for information dated 19 May 2026.

Kind regards,

 

Office of Hon Simon Watts

 

Minister of Climate Change

Minister of Local Government

Minister of Revenue

Minister for Auckland
 

Website: [1]www.Beehive,govt.nz

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

Authorised by Hon Simon Watts, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

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does not include personal or constituency matters). For each meeting in
scope, the summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief
description, location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you
attend a meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name
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unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent
with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
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sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy at
[2]https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Simon Watts (MIN) <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 19 May 2026 12:35 pm
To: Miss M Quicken <[FOI #34738 email]>
Cc: Simon Watts (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: RE: 133-26 Official Information request - Briefings received on
External wall insulation consenting process
 

Good afternoon,

 

Thank you for your email in which you submitted an Official Information
Act request as follows:

 

I would like to understand how effective the Red Tape tipline is as to
what comes to coordination between the ministers upon issues raised &
briefings received.

 

I would like to pick one issue around external wall insulation, infamously
littered with inconsistencies between local councils and overtly expensive
/ complicated process.

 

i.e.
[3]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

 

Please provide:

 

A) Briefings or formal submissions received through or by the Ministry for
Regulation relating to building consents requirement external walls
insulation.

 

I would like to understand from your point of view what you have, as the
minister for local government or energy, received from ministry of
regulation to address these regulatory redundancies in the local
government side.

 

This given local government effectively implements building act consent
process.

 

I also would like to invite the minister to provide his view on this
matter if they would like to do so publicly.

 

Minister Watts is considering your request in accordance with the Act, and
you can expect a response by 17 June 2026

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Office of Hon Simon Watts

 

Minister of Climate Change

Minister of Local Government

Minister of Revenue

Minister for Auckland

Email: [4][Simon Watts request email] | Website: [5]www.beehive.govt.nz  

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

 

show quoted sections