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Our Reference:A1368465
24 July 2020
Mike Riddell
Email: [FYI request #13217 email]
Dear Mr Riddell,
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) Request
We refer to your information request dated 2 July 2020. A copy of your request is set out
below:
I seek all email correspondence between Councillor Michael Laws on his ORC assigned
email ([email address]) and other Councillors in the period 1 February 2020
and 30 June 2020. This is material vital to a defence against charges of defamation
issued against me by Cr Laws. Your speedy response is appreciated.
Your request as currently framed will be very difficult to meet without substantial collation
or research. An IT search of Council emails has identified 507 emails which fall within
the scope of your request. These emails would need to be individually reviewed,
amongst other things, for confidential information, personal privacy and free and frank
expressions of opinion. These factors are grounds which Council must take into
consideration when making a decision on whether to provide information in response to
an information request
1. The Council may also consult with those individuals that are
party to the emails
2.
Out of the 507 emails, we have reviewed a sample selection of 40 emails, of which 22
emails would require consultation and possible redaction.
Given the volume of information to review, it is necessary to extend the timeframe for
responding to your request to 27 August 2020.
To enable us to respond in a shorter timeframe you may wish to consider amending or
clarifying your request to narrow the scope. Some options could be to limit the request
to a particular topic or subject matter, reduce the timeframe of the requested information
or reduce the number of participants who fall within the scope of your request.
1 Refer section 7 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
2 Refer section 13(6) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you have any queries concerning the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
James Gribble
Administration Officer- Legal
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