[UNCLASSIFIED]

Kia ora and thank you for your email.

If you are a New Zealand citizen overseas needing urgent assistance you
should call the 24/7 Consular emergency line on 0800 30 10 30 or +64 99 20
20 20

 

This mailbox will not be monitored over the summer break from 22 December
2023 to 5 January 2024 (inclusive). You can expect a response to your
email during the week of 8 January 2024.

 

Please note, for Official Information Act (OIA) requests received during
this time, the period commencing 25 December 2023 to 15 January 2024 are
not counted as working days (as per section 2(1) of the OIA).

For enquiries regarding:
• Advice for New Zealanders living and travelling overseas – visit Home |
[1]https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/
• New Zealand Scholarships - email [email address]
• MFAT Vacancies - visit our website at:
[2]https://vacancies.mfat.govt.nz/.
• MFAT Graduate Programme - email: [email address].
• New Zealand visas, asylum and other immigrations matters - contact
Immigration New Zealand, by emailing
[email address] or visit the Immigration New
Zealand website at: [3]https://www.immigration.govt.nz/ revised
• Visas for other countries - contact the relevant foreign representative
to New Zealand. A full list is available at
[4]https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/embassies/.
• New Zealand passports - visit the Internal Affairs website at:
[5]www.passports.govt.nz.
• New Zealand citizenship - visit the Internal Affairs website at:
[6]www.dia.govt.nz/New-Zealand-citizenship.
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website at: [7]www.dia.govt.nz/document-authentication.
• Bringing goods into New Zealand - visit the New Zealand Customs website
at: [8]www.customs.govt.nz.
• NZ suppliers or companies - visit the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
website at: [9]www.nzte.govt.nz.
• To attest fingerprints - visit
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For all other enquiries, you will receive a response in due course.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the
Ministry. It may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or
the information in it as this may be unlawful. If you have received this
message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

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4. https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/embassies/
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[UNCLASSIFIED]

Kia ora Andrew Riddell,

Thank you for your OIA request received on 4 January 2024 for:
I request copies of all advice, briefings, reports and other communication since 1 October 2023 to the Prime Minster, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Leaders of Opposition Parties, and/or to cabinet on the following matters (including were the matters are included as part of communications on several topics)

- the events in Gaza and its surrounds on 7 October,
- international conventions and law on genocide, rights of people within occupied territories to resist that occupation, duties and responsibilities of occupying forces, and war crimes,
- a ceasefire in Gaza
- potential war crimes by Israel and/or Hamas
- the South African action to the International Court of Justice on the subject of genocide by Israel

This email confirms receipt of your request and advises that we will respond to it as soon as reasonably practicable, and in terms of the timeframes and requirements of the OIA.

Please note that our response letter to you (with your personal details redacted), and any enclosed documents, may be published on the Ministry’s website.

Please also note that your request is formally due after the OIA summer holiday period (25 December 2023 to 15 January 2024), which are not considered working days as set out in section 2(1) of the OIA, however the Ministry will seek to provide you with a decision on your request as soon as possible.

Ngā mihi

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Riddell <[FOI #25331 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 4 January 2024 9:38 pm
To: ENQUIRIES <[MFAT request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - briefings on Israel and Gaza

Dear Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

I request copies of all advice, briefings, reports and other communication since 1 October 2023 to the Prime Minster, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Leaders of Opposition Parties, and/or to cabinet on the following matters (including were the matters are included as part of communications on several topics)

- the events in Gaza and its surrounds on 7 October,
- international conventions and law on genocide, rights of people within occupied territories to resist that occupation, duties and responsibilities of occupying forces, and war crimes,
- a ceasefire in Gaza
- potential war crimes by Israel and/or Hamas
- the South African action to the International Court of Justice on the subject of genocide by Israel

I confirm I am a New Zealand citizen living in this country.

Ngā mihi

Andrew Riddell

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #25331 email]

Is [MFAT request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

hide quoted sections

[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tēnā koe Andrew,

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

The information in scope of your request is substantial, with hundreds of emails, messages, and documents, which would require the attention of our teams already under pressure monitoring the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and providing assistance to New Zealanders. Therefore, your request as it currently stands is likely to be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the information requested would require substantial collation and research to provide.

In order to avoid a refusal, we would like to ask if you would consider narrowing the scope of your request? For example, are you interested in a summary of advice MFAT has provided to Ministers, information on the Ministry’s approach to the Israel-Gaza conflict, information generated at a specific point in time, etc? A refinement would help us to provide you with relevant information on the issue without impairing efficient administration here at the Ministry or negatively impacting our ongoing operations.

It would be appreciated if you could respond to this email by midday on Monday 22 January 2024.

Any clarification or amendment of a request is considered to be a new request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).

Many thanks,

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Riddell <[FOI #25331 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 4 January 2024 9:38 pm
To: ENQUIRIES <[MFAT request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - briefings on Israel and Gaza

Dear Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

I request copies of all advice, briefings, reports and other communication since 1 October 2023 to the Prime Minster, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Leaders of Opposition Parties, and/or to cabinet on the following matters (including were the matters are included as part of communications on several topics)

- the events in Gaza and its surrounds on 7 October,
- international conventions and law on genocide, rights of people within occupied territories to resist that occupation, duties and responsibilities of occupying forces, and war crimes,
- a ceasefire in Gaza
- potential war crimes by Israel and/or Hamas
- the South African action to the International Court of Justice on the subject of genocide by Israel

I confirm I am a New Zealand citizen living in this country.

Ngā mihi

Andrew Riddell

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #25331 email]

Is [MFAT request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

hide quoted sections

[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tēnā koe Andrew,

I am writing concerning your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

This email is to advise that we will need to extend the time limit for responding to you by 30 working days, to 28 March 2024. This is because consultations necessary to make a decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original time frame (section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers)

However, if this process is completed before 28 March 2024, the response will be sent to you as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, you can contact us by email at: [email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision by contacting www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

Ngaa mihi,

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Riddell <[FOI #25331 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 8:22 pm
To: ESD <[email address]>
Subject: Re: FW: Official Information request - briefings on Israel and Gaza

Dear Executive Services Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

I am somewhat bemused by the reasons for your request for me to limit the scope of my request.

In making the request I deliberately limited it to communications with specific people and to cabinet. I further limited the request to communications from 1 October on, and to a limited range of subject matters.

I am puzzled about why that requires reviewing hundreds of emails, messages, and documents.

Are you reviewing communications TO the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Leaders of Opposition Parties and TO Cabinet as per my request, or including all documents and discussion and advice leading to the drafting and submission of documents to the persons identified or to Cabinet?

Is your record keeping system capable of searching out communications to specific people? or not?

However, I am prepared for now to limit the request to all communications/briefings/reports/etc TO the Prime Minister or TO the Minister of Foreign Affairs. But keep the same time period and subject matters as in my original request.

Cheers
Andrew Riddell

-----Original Message-----

[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tēnā koe Andrew,

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

The information in scope of your request is substantial, with hundreds of emails, messages, and documents, which would require the attention of our teams already under pressure monitoring the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and providing assistance to New Zealanders. Therefore, your request as it currently stands is likely to be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the information requested would require substantial collation and research to provide.

In order to avoid a refusal, we would like to ask if you would consider narrowing the scope of your request? For example, are you interested in a summary of advice MFAT has provided to Ministers, information on the Ministry’s approach to the Israel-Gaza conflict, information generated at a specific point in time, etc? A refinement would help us to provide you with relevant information on the issue without impairing efficient administration here at the Ministry or negatively impacting our ongoing operations.

It would be appreciated if you could respond to this email by midday on Monday 22 January 2024.

Any clarification or amendment of a request is considered to be a new request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).

Many thanks,

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatū Aorere

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #25331 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the Ministry. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

hide quoted sections

[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tçnâ koe Andrew,

Executive Services Division
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere

 

 

 

On behalf of the Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, please see
attached the response to you OIA request.

 

Ngâ mihi,

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: ESD
Sent: Thursday, 15 February 2024 1:48 pm
To: [FYI request #25331 email]
Subject: FW: FW: Official Information request - briefings on Israel and
Gaza

 

Tçnâ koe Andrew,

 

I am writing concerning your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request
below.

 

This email is to advise that we will need to extend the time limit for
responding to you by 30 working days, to 28 March 2024. This is because
consultations necessary to make a decision on your request are such that a
proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original time frame
(section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers)

 

However, if this process is completed before 28 March 2024, the response
will be sent to you as soon as possible.

 

If you have any questions, you can contact us by email at:
[1][email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and
review by the Ombudsman of this decision by contacting
[2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

Ngaa mihi,

 

Executive Services Division

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Andrew Riddell <[3][FYI request #25331 email]>

Sent: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 8:22 pm

To: ESD <[4][email address]>

Subject: Re: FW: Official Information request - briefings on Israel and
Gaza

 

Dear Executive Services Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

 

I am somewhat bemused by the reasons for your request for me to limit the
scope of my request.

 

In making the request I deliberately limited it to communications with
specific people and to cabinet.  I further limited the request to
communications from 1 October on, and to a limited range of subject
matters.

 

I am puzzled about why that requires reviewing hundreds of emails,
messages, and documents.

 

Are you reviewing communications TO the Prime Minister, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Leaders of Opposition Parties and TO Cabinet as per my
request, or including all documents and discussion  and advice leading to
the drafting and submission of documents to the persons identified or to
Cabinet?

 

Is your record keeping system capable of searching out communications to
specific people? or not?

 

However, I am prepared for now to limit the request to all
communications/briefings/reports/etc TO the Prime Minister or TO the
Minister of Foreign Affairs. But keep the same time period and subject
matters as in my original request.

 

Cheers

Andrew Riddell

 

-----Original Message-----

 

[UNCLASSIFIED]

 

Tçnâ koe Andrew,

 

Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

 

The information in scope of your request is substantial, with hundreds of
emails, messages, and documents, which would require the attention of our
teams already under pressure monitoring the situation in Israel and the
Occupied Palestinian Territories and providing assistance to New
Zealanders. Therefore, your request as it currently stands is likely to be
refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, as the information requested would
require substantial collation and research to provide.

 

In order to avoid a refusal, we would like to ask if you would consider
narrowing the scope of your request? For example, are you interested in a
summary of advice MFAT has provided to Ministers, information on the
Ministry’s approach to the Israel-Gaza conflict, information generated at
a specific point in time, etc? A refinement would help us to provide you
with relevant information on the issue without impairing efficient
administration here at the Ministry or negatively impacting our ongoing
operations.

 

It would be appreciated if you could respond to this email by midday on
Monday 22 January 2024.

 

Any clarification or amendment of a request is considered to be a new
request for the purpose of calculating the maximum statutory timeframe for
response (section 15(1AA) of the OIA refers).

 

Many thanks,

 

 

Executive Services Division

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Manatû Aorere

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[5][FYI request #25331 email]

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[6]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The information contained in this email message is intended only for the
addressee and is not necessarily the official view or communication of the
Ministry. It may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient you must not use, disclose, copy or distribute this message or
the information in it as this may be unlawful. If you have received this
message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately."

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
3. mailto:[FYI request #25331 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[FYI request #25331 email]
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections