Thank you for contacting the Office of Hon Casey Costello, Minister of
Customs, Minister for Seniors, Associate Minister of Health, Associate
Minister of Immigration, and Associate Minister of Police. 

 
The Minister considers all correspondence important and appreciates you
taking the time to write. Please note that as Minister Costello receives a
large amount of correspondence it is not always possible to personally
reply to all emails. 
  
The following guidelines apply: 

* Portfolio related correspondence will be considered and responded to
where appropriate. 

* If your message is for Minister Costello’s advice, or if you have
copied your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with
more appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted. 

* Invitations and requests to meet with the Minister will be processed
as soon as possible and a staff member will be in contact with you in
due course. Please note this email is an acknowledgment that your
invitation/request has been received. 

* If you have made a request for official information then this will be
managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information
Act 1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or
agency. 

* If your email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be
no further response to you. 

*  Media queries will be referred to the Minister’s press secretary. 

 
 Again, thank you for writing. 

 

 

Kind regards, 

 
 
Office of Hon Casey Costello 
Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors | Associate Minister of Health
| Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Police 
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand 

DDI: 04 817 6827 

 

Please note information about meetings related to the Ministers’
portfolios will be proactively released (this does not
include personal, or constituency matters). For each meeting in scope, the
summary would list: date, time (start and finish), brief description,
location, who the meeting was with, and the portfolio. If you attend a
meeting with the Minister on behalf of an organisation, the name of the
organisation will be released. If you are a senior staff member at an
organisation, or meet with the Minister in your personal capacity, your
name may also be released. The location of the meeting will be released,
unless it is a private residence. The proactive release will be consistent
with the provisions in the Official Information Act, including privacy
considerations. Under the Privacy Act 1993 you have the right to ask for a
copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to
be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of
your information, or to have it corrected, or are concerned about the
release of your information in the meeting disclosure, please contact the
sender. You can read more about the proactive release policy
at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Proactive-Releas...

 

Disclaimer:  

The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential
and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or transmission error has
misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email
and destroy the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use,
disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful. 

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Dear Merav Benaia,

 

Thank you for your email of 2/2/2024 which you submitted an Official
Information Act request as follows:

Your OIA Request:

Regarding you answer to oral question #7 on Thursday, 1st February 2024
that reads:

"...When I received this delegation, I provided a range of information to
officials, including things like Hansard … and previous policy proposals
around smoke-free and vaping to help guide conversations. The health paper
came back setting out a number of areas … [to provide] advice [on] … and I
marked that I wanted advice on [each] of them". That health briefing
refers to proposals and notes. I want to be clear they were not my
proposals or notes. They were not things I had written."

Who wrote or collated this ministerial document that said "freeze the
excise rates on smoked tobacco" that she gave to health officials, and she
refers to in her answer to the oral question.

 

Minister Hon Casey Costello is considering your official request in
accordance with the Act, and you can expect a response by Monday 4 March
2024.

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

 

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors

Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Health |
Associate Minister of Police

2.062 PH, Parliament Buildings,Wellington 6160, New Zealand

DDI: (04) 817 6827

E: [1][Casey Costello request email]

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Merav, 

 

Thank you for your request for official information received on 2/2/2024
requesting: 

 

“Regarding you answer to oral question #7 on Thursday, 1st February 2024
that reads:

...When I received this delegation, I provided a range of information to
officials, including things like Hansard … and previous policy proposals
around smoke-free and vaping to help guide conversations. The health paper
came back setting out a number of areas … [to provide] advice [on] … and I
marked that I wanted advice on [each] of them". That health briefing
refers to proposals and notes. I want to be clear they were not my
proposals or notes. They were not things I had written."

Who wrote or collated this ministerial document that said "freeze the
excise rates on smoked tobacco" that she gave to health officials, and she
refers to in her answer to the oral question” 

 

My office has decided to extend the
period of time available to respond to your request under section
15A of the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) as the
consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are such that a
proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made within the
original time limit.

 

You can now expect a response to your request on, or before, 15 March
2024. 

 

You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to
review my decision to extend the time available to respond to your
request. 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

 

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors

Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Health |
Associate Minister of Police

2.062 PH, Parliament Buildings,Wellington 6160, New Zealand

DDI: (04) 817 6827

E: [1][Casey Costello request email]

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

 

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Dear Merav,

 

Please find attached a response to your request for official information.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello

 

Office of Hon Casey Costello  

Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors 

Associate Minister of Health | Associate Minister of Immigration |
Associate Minister of Police

2.062 PH, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

E: [1][Casey Costello request email]

 

 

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Casey Costello request email]