PO Box 14001
Christchurch 8544
New Zealand
Telephone (+64 3) 358 5029
christchurchairport.co.nz
28 August 2023
April Hayes Dickson
Email: [FYI request #23651 email]
Tēnā koe Ms Dickson
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982 (OIA) – REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION -
CHRISTCHURCH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED (CIAL)
1.
We write further to our email of 2 August 2023, acknowledging receipt of your OIA
request of 31 July 2023 seeking the following information (if held by CIAL) in relation
to the proposed Central Otago airport project:
Request: Received 31 July – Conflicts of Interest - Central Otago Airport
Please provide any logged conflicts of interest with the project contractors and
consultants on the Central Otago Airport project, broken down into number of conflicts
with local government, businesses, non government entities and central
government. For conflicts with local and national government entities please list the
conflict and the mitigation in place.
2.
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.
3.
All our purchasing and procurement activity is auditable, clear and transparent. Our
employees must act in a fair and unbiased manner through the CIAL procurement
process and part of this obligation is to be careful that their decision-making processes
cannot be challenged based on actual or perceived bias, particularly in relation to
conflicts of interest.
4.
CIAL requires its employees to declare any personal interest which may affect, or
could be perceived to affect, their impartiality in any aspect of their work. Declarations
may then provide the basis for deciding the steps needed to manage any potential
conflict of interest.
5.
With respect to the information you have requested, we advise that on the Central
Otago Airport project there has only been one instance where a potential conflict of
interest has been identified between a member of the team and a supplier of services.
We can confirm that CIAL’s process was implemented and followed. We are unable to
provide any further details of the matter pursuant to requirement to protect the
privacy of natural persons pursuant to clause 9(2)(a) of the Official Information Act
1982.
6.
We trust we have answered your requests for information. If you require any further
information or we have in some way misinterpreted your requests, please let us know.
7.
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]
