27 March 2023
File Ref: OIA 46572
John Luke
[FYI request #21641 email]
Tēnā koe John
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your information request dated 25 February 2023. You asked for the following
information:
“I noted in your reply,
•
Conservation Boards
•
District Health Boards
•
University Councils
Can you specify exactly which sub-entities you have actually provide nomination to? e.g.
Auckland University.
Also, I noted "a database of approximately 1,260 registered persons", can you provide to
me how many are female and how many are male”.
Response
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). Prior to
responding to your request I wish to address some imprecision in our earlier response (File
Ref: OIA 46458) to you on this matter.
As part of the list of entities we have provided nominees for we incorrectly listed
“Conservation boards” we should have used the term “Conservation-related boards”.
Similarly, we incorrectly used the term “District Health Boards”, we should have used the term
“Health-related boards”. I apologise for any confusion this error may have caused you.
In relation to your request for specification of which entities nominations were provided to
under each of the categories you listed (incorporating the above correction).
I can confirm:
• Conservation-related boards – we have provided nominees for consideration for Te
Pou Atawahai Taiao o Aotearoa (the New Zealand Conservation Authority).
• Health-related boards – we have provided nominees for consideration for the Health
Research Council of New Zealand.
• University Councils – this part of your request is refused in accordance with s18(g) on
the basis that the information is not held. The Tertiary Education Commission, who
manages these appointments, requests nominees for Councils. The information is
recorded as being provided to the Tertiary Education Commission, not the specific
Councils.
You also requested a breakdown of the number of male and female nominees in our
database. Gender identification is not a mandatory field of information we collect. Given the
incompleteness of the data we hold, I do not consider this part of your request to be within
the scope of the Official Information Act 1982 as it does not constitute a request for official
information.
In explaining why I have reached this conclusion, I believe it would be of some assistance for
you to refer to the Office of the Ombudsman’
s helpful guide1 for requesters making requests
under the Act.
On page 7 of this guide there is a useful section differentiating:
• ‘information held’, from
• ‘information that is not held’.
Specifically, the guide explains that an agency (or Minister) “
is not obliged to form an
opinion or create information to answer an official information request”.
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.
Please note that Te Puni Kōkiri publishes some of its OIA responses on its website, after the
response is sent to the requester. The responses published are those that are considered to
have a high level of public interest. We will not publish your name, address or contact details.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please
feel free to contact us at
[TPK request email]. Ngā mihi
Grace Smit
Haut
ū, Te Puni Whakahaere Tikanga | Deputy Secretary, Strategy, Finance and
Performance
1 “Making official information requests – A guide for requesters” URL -
https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/resources/making-official-information-requests-guide-requesters
