133 Molesworth
Street
PO Box 5013
4 May 2021
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
Micky Turner
By email:
[FYI request #15232 email]
Ref:
H202104789
Dear Micky Turner
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) which was
transferred from Hon Andrew Little to the Ministry of Health (the Ministry) on 21 April 2021
for:
“Can you please forward all evidence held by the Government - which supports the
implementation of blanket race based health prioritization vs case by case prioritization
based on actual genetic risk?
While it is true that 'some' health issues are hereditary and gender &/or genes play a
role in increased risk - surely not 'all' health issues can be attributed to race or gender.
In many instances (if not most) it is unethical to bump a person up a priority queue
simply because they are 'insert race &/or gender here'.
Wikipedia states:
'Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic
groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of
apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the International Criminal
Court. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use
of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people of different races.
https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&d=qo3_4LpeGs7seZfj8qqgyUF3YrUpk20Mf
nfYSCXmwg&u=https%3a%2f%2fen%2ewikipedia%2eorg%2fwiki%2fRacial%5fsegreg
ation
Please forward all emails & discussions on record, as well as all research carried out
by your Government and the Ministry of Health - including how a blanket race based
prioritization system complies with New Zealand's obligations under local &
international law.”
It appears you are asking the Ministry to comment on prioritisation of healthcare and
Government decisions to change the healthcare system. While the Act enables people to
request official information from the Ministry, it only applies to information it holds. There is
no obligation to create information in order to respond to requests, nor is the Ministry obliged
to provide an opinion. This query appears to be efforts to engage in a debate about the
merits of the Government’s decisions, rather than a legitimate request to the Ministry for
official information. The Act does not support requests in which a requester quotes
information and then seeks some form of comment on it, couched as a request for official
information. Therefore, I am refusing your request under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as the
information requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no grounds for believing it is
held by another agency subject to the Act.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at: www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-
official-information-act-requests.
Yours sincerely
Nick Allan
Manager OIA Services
Office of the Director-General
Page 2 of 2