OIAD-662
Debbie Leota
[FYI request #22845 email]
Tēnā koe Debbie
Thank you for your email of 18 May 2023 to the Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) requesting
the following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
I'd like to ask for the fol owing information (whether contained in documents, emails, reports,
or a summary or extract):
1. Please provide the titles of all projects relating to policy reform in the past 2 financial years
(i.e. FY21/22 and 22/23) that have had an expert or policy consultant or contractor (i.e. not IT
or marketing but involved in core analysis etc).
2. For each project, please list the firm (or trading name) and names of the individual
consultants or contractors hired for each project.
3. Please provide a monthly breakdown for the period in question 1 of the spend on those
consultants/contractors per individual (if held) or per firm.
4. Please provide a copy of all conflict of interest (actual or perceived) disclosures made by the
firm and individuals (whether upon initial hire or made during the term of the contract(s)).
5. Please provide a copy of all information that sets out any conflict of interest mitigations or
management plans or protocols used for any conflicts of interests disclosed.
On 16 June 2023, the Ministry advised you that the timeframe for responding to your request would
be extended by 40 working days under section 15A(1)(b) of the Act, as the consultations necessary to
make a decision on the request were such that a proper response could not be made within the
original timeframe.
On 20 June 2023, you requested that the Ministry respond in parts to your request. The Ministry
confirmed that we were working to provide a response to Question One in advance of the other parts
of your request. The Ministry has been unable to provide you with a response to Question One ahead
of the other information in scope. This was due to the information in scope of Question One being so
interconnected with other parts of the request that we could not provide this information at an earlier
date. I apologise for the Ministry’s inability to release information in a staggered manner.
Questions One and Two
The Ministry has identified 11 titles of projects relating to policy reform of the New Zealand Emissions
Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) within the past two financial years. These 11 titles are listed in Appendix 1,
attached.
Question Three
Appendix 2, attached, provides a monthly breakdown of the spend on the contracts in scope of this
request.
Question Four and Five
All individuals contracted to work on projects in scope of this request have stated there were no
conflicts of interest in their entering into these contracts. I must therefore refuse this part of your
request under section 18(e) of the Act, as the documents requested do not exist.
I can assure you that the Ministry asks each supplier undertaking contract work with us to declare any
conflict of interest in providing goods and/or services or entering into a contract with us. The Ministry
informs all suppliers that they must do their best to avoid situations that may lead to conflicts of
interest arising. Suppliers must inform the Ministry immediately if any conflicts of interest arise.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Office of the Ombudsman of my
decisions relating to this request, in accordance with section 28(3) of the Act. The relevant details can
be found on their website a
t: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Please note that, due to the public interest in our work, the Ministry publishes responses to requests
for official information on ou
r OIA responses page shortly after the response has been sent. If you
have any queries about this, please feel free to contact our Ministerial Services team:
[email address]. Ngā mihi
Melody Guy
Director – Markets Climate Group
Ministry for the Environment | Manatū Mō Te Taiao
Appendix 1
No. Project description
Start date
End date
Firm/trading name
Individual(s) hired
1 Contractor for data and evidence lead NZ
1/08/2022
16/09/2022 Resource Economics
Tim Denne
ETS review
2 Geothermal Regulations Update
3/10/2022
30/10/2022 Geokem
Kevin Brown
3 Modelling of ETS impacts on the electricity 12/04/2022 19/04/2022 Sam Harvey
Sam Harvey
market
4 NZ ETS Market Governance
1/08/2022
28/08/2023 Strata Energy Consulting
Daniel Tulloch
Limited
5 ETS Markets Governance
29/03/2021 26/08/2022 Strata Energy Consulting
Daniel Tulloch, Philip
Limited
Beardmore, and Ivan
Diaz-Rainey
6 Defining problem re forestry in NZ
18/01/2022 18/02/2022 Resource Economics
Tim Denne
Emissions Trading scheme
7 Member of IA review TAG
19/04/2021 5/07/2021
Resource Economics
Tim Denne
8 Member of IA review TAG
19/04/2021 5/07/2021
Niven Winchester (trading Niven Winchester
as an individual)
9 Member of IA review TAG
19/04/2021 5/07/2021
Ivan Diaz-Rainey (trading as Ivan Diaz-Rainey
an individual)
10 Member of IA review TAG
19/04/2021 5/07/2021
Firecone Limited
Andrew Sweet
11 Member of Industrial Al ocation Review
19/04/2021 5/07/2021
Frazer Lindstrom Limited
Stuart Frazer
Technical Advisory Group
