IR-01-22-4870
6 April 2022
Chuck Schooner
[FYI request #18631 email]
Dear Chuck
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 22 February 2022,
which you further clarified on 8 March 2022, in which you asked for information relating to
the protest at Parliament.
My response to each of your questions can be found below.
•
Total number of police coming into Wellington to assist with the protests weekly -
eg Total frontline offices in Wellington at 3 day intervals from February 15 to
todays date
A total of 1802 staff were deployed from outside of Wel ington District over the four
weeks. Please note this includes staff from Police National Headquarters and the Royal
New Zealand Police College.
Your request for a breakdown of this number into weekly or 3-day intervals is refused
pursuant to section 6(c) of the OIA, as the release of this information would be likely to
prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and
detection of offences.
•
Please provide the total number of different hotels they are staying at
Police staff used 10 different venues for accommodation.
•
Please provide total number of agitators if any being paid for by NZ Police to
aggravate the protestors - if this is not the case please state if any other agencies
are funding agitators ie GCSB
Police did not arrange for, or pay, anybody to aggravate protestors, nor is Police aware of
any other government agency doing so. This is not a tactic Police would employ.
Accordingly, this part of your request is refused pursuant to section 18(g) of the OIA, as
the information requested is not held by Police.
•
Alternatively if there aren't paid agitators please provide number of plain clothes
officers infiltrating the protest on a daily basis
Police did not keep a record of how many officers were working at the protest each day in
plain clothes. Accordingly, this part of your request is refused pursuant to section 18(g) of
the OIA, as the information requested is not held by Police
•
I am specifical y wanting directives provided to NZ Police by Trevor Mallard or his
team who I understand was the point man - specifically relating to directives,
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
strategies and how the protest was to be disbursed prior to the date the NZ
Police forcefully went in.
Police did not receive directives from Trevor Mallard, or his team, regarding how to
handle the protest at Parliament. The Commissioner of Police is not responsible to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives in carrying out any of his functions as set out in
the Policing Act 2008.
This part of your request is therefore refused pursuant to section 18(e) of the OIA, as the
documentation alleged to contain this information does not exist.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not satisfied
with the response to your request. Information about how to make a complaint is available
at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Yours sincerely
David Greig
Superintendent
New Zealand Police
