New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
7 May 2021
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
John Smith
T +64 4 439 8000
[FYI request #15171 email]
F +64 4 472 9596
OIA 27394
Tēnā koe John Smith
I refer to your email of 14 April 2021 in which you request the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA):
“I would like to request the full results of the referendums held in the Cook Islands on
24 March 1994 and 16 June 1999.”
Full results of the referendums held in the Cook Islands on 24 March 1994 and 16 June 1999
are not held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, a high level summary of
the results is publicly available, and can be found in the journal article linked here, at page
142:
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/13022
Your request is therefore refused under sections 18(d) and 18(g)(i) of the OIA.
A more detailed breakdown of the referendums will likely be held by the Government of the
Cook Islands. The Cook Islands Government has no statutory obligation to report election
results to New Zealand. Information held by the Government of the Cook Islands is also not
covered under New Zealand’s Official Information Act 1982, but eligible individuals are able to
make information requests through the equivalent legislation in the Cook Islands. You can find
more information about this process online at:
https://ombudsman.gov.ck/complaints/official-
information-act-2009/ If you are seeking this or other information about another government, you may wish to
contact that government directly to obtain information. In this case, you can find the contact
information for the relevant government agencies of the Cook Islands online at:
http://www.ck/govt2.htm You have the right under section 28(3) of the OIA to seek a review of this response by the
Ombudsman.
Nāku noa, nā
Julie-Anne Lee
for Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
e [MFAT request email]
w www.mfat.govt.nz
