PO Box 14001
Christchurch 8544
New Zealand
Telephone (+64 3) 358 5029
christchurchairport.co.nz
25 August 2023
Simon Richardson
Email: [FYI request #23641 email]
Tēnā koe Mr Richardson
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 (OIA) – REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION -
CHRISTCHURCH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED (CIAL)
1. We write further to our email of 02 August 2023, acknowledging receipt of your OIA
request of 30 July 2023 seeking information (if held by CIAL) in relation to the
proposed Central Otago airport project.
We have answered your request in this letter and for completeness, we set out your
request below.
Request: Received 30 July 2023 – Central Otago Airport Connectivity
I saw the ODT article this weekend and then went to your website. I was particularly
in this page. I can see that this page was first published some time ago.
Firstly, your website says “Many of Central Otago’s key sectors of employment
require high-quality transport connections to operate successfully.” Please provide all
documentation, analysis and data which supports this point and leads you to this
conclusion. Please provide detailed modelling you have on file to substantiate this
claim.
Secondly, you state that shortage of air capacity will likely result in a) reduced choice,
b) longer journey times, c) increased cost and d) higher emissions. Please provide the
documentation, data, analysis, including external peer reviewed studies and analysis,
which you relied on when making each of these four statements. In respect of these
documents, please provide the date each document first appeared within your
organisation.
2. From the outset, please note that CIAL will provide you with the requested
information where it is able. The OIA permits an organisation to refuse to release
requested information it holds if the withholding of such information is necessary to
enable the organisation to carry out its commercial activities or negotiations without
prejudice or disadvantage (s 9(i) and s9(j) OIA) provided that such withholding is
not outweighed in the circumstances by the public interest in making the specific
information available. For example, while it may be in the public interest to
understand that CIAL is investigating the feasibility of establishing an airport in
Central Otago that does not mean CIAL must share every detail of its analysis, work
or negotiations within specific work streams.
3. At present, CIAL is under no legal obligation to consult in relation to the Project. To
assist public understanding of the context of the Project and CIAL’s decisions, CIAL
has committed to, and does, proactively publish information as it completes pieces
of work which is likely to be in the public interest to receive on its dedicated Project
web-site at
https://www.centralotagoairport.co.nz/. Until work is completed, it is
not capable of being released. Over time this will see more information voluntarily
released. In such instances the public interest test will have been considered and
weighed up as part of the decision whether to release information or not. Equally,
each OIA query CIAL receives will be assessed on a case by case basis given the
particular given facts and circumstances at play at that time.
4. CIAL is a council-controlled trading organisation that has been specifically
established to operate and manage its business as an independent commercial
undertaking for the purposes of making a profit, and to follow generally accepted
commercial practices and disciplines. CIAL is not a public body collecting and
spending public funds. It operates as a wholly commercial, standalone entity. Due
to the size and scale of those activities it is one of only three major airports in New
Zealand regulated under Part 4 of the Commerce Act.
5. As an airport, CIAL has a further overriding obligation under the Airport Authorities
Act to act as a commercial undertaking. It does so in a commercially competitive
environment both domestically and internationally, where its competitors are not
under corresponding disclosure requirements. The proposed Central Otago airport
project is a complex commercial activity, acknowledged as being in competition with
the interests of other airports within New Zealand.
6. Taking each of your specific queries in turn, we respond as follows:
Request:
I saw the ODT article this weekend and then went to your website. I was particularly
interested in this page. I can see that this page was first published some time ago.
Firstly, your website says “Many of Central Otago’s key sectors of employment
require high-quality transport connections to operate successfully.” Please provide all
documentation, analysis and data which supports this point and leads you to this
conclusion. Please provide detailed modelling you have on file to substantiate this
claim.
From the outset, Rhys Boswell’s comments were referring generally to the level of
connectivity and infrastructure services. As CIAL will shortly be releasing general
summary information, further details and information are withheld under Section
18(d) of the OIA, given such information requested in respect to the above will soon
be made available.
Secondly, you state that shortage of air capacity will likely result in a) reduced choice,
b) longer journey times, c) increased cost and d) higher emissions. Please provide the
documentation, data, analysis, including external peer reviewed studies and analysis,
which you relied on when making each of these four statements. In respect of these
documents, please provide the date each document first appeared within your
organisation.
As outlined above, further details and information are withheld under Section 18(d)
of the OIA, given such information requested in respect to the above will soon be
made available.
7. We trust we have answered your requests for information. If you require any further
information or if we have in some way misinterpreted your requests, please let us
know.
8. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of the
decisions contained in this letter. Information about how to contact the Ombudsman
or make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
CIAL LEGAL TEAM
Email: [Christchurch International Airport Limited request email]
