New Zealand Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade
Manatū Aorere
8 April 2024
195 Lambton Quay
Private Bag 18−901
Wellington 6160
New Zealand
John Luke
T +64 4 439 8000
F +64 4 472 9596
[FYI request #25897 email]
OIA 29166
Tēnā koe John Luke
I refer to your email of 27 February 2024 in which you request the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA):
https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2024-go768
May I ask how you called for public nomination and on what platform you have call for
public nominations e.g. govt.jobs website. Also, how many applications you have
received from the public and how many you have received from other nominating
agencies such as TPK or Ministry of women etc. How many you have shortlisted and
how many you have interviewed. Also, what is the pay rate for the board.
The link you provided leads to the Notice of Appointment of a Member of the Board of
Management of the New Zealand Antarctic Institute on 26 February 2024. We have interpreted
this to be the context for your request.
On 26 March 2024, the timeframes for responding to your request were extended by an
additional 12 working days due to the consultations necessary to make a decision on your
request (15A(1)(b) of the OIA refers).
The Crown Entities Act 2004 allows the Minister of Foreign Affairs to make appointments to
Antarctica New Zealand’s Board of Management. The gazette notice is an announcement by the
Minister of his decision to appoint Heather Simpson to the Board.
The appointment of a new member to Antarctica New Zealand’s Board of Management is made in
accordance with the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission’s guidance on board
appointments. These guidelines are available on the Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
website at:
https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/guidance/guide-board-appointment-and-induction-
guidelines. The position was advertised through the relevant channels and nominating agencies which
includes (but is not limited to) government agencies that work on Antarctic issues. Self-
nominations were also accepted.
15 candidates were nominated for this position, 13 of these candidates were nominated through
nomination agencies using the process outlined above and two of the candidates were self-
nominations that came from the public.
e [MFAT request email]
w www.mfat.govt.nz
Page 2 of 2
No shortlisting process occurred. Full details of all nominated candidates were provided to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs for consideration.
No interviews were held.
You also requested the pay rate for a member on Antarctica New Zealand’s Board. The fee for
service is NZ$10,000 plus GST per annum. This is in accordance with Cabinet’s guidance on fees
for members appointed to boards of management of crown entities. Full information about this
guidance can be found on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) website at:
https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/co-22-2-revised-fees-framework-members-appointed-
bodies-which-crown-has-interest#revised-fees-framework-for-members-appointed-to-bodies-in-
which-the-crown-has-an-interest.
Please note that it is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information
requests where possible. Therefore, our response to your request (with your personal information
removed) may be published on the Ministry website:
www.mfat.govt.nz/en/about-us/contact-
us/official-information-act-responses/ If you have any questions about this decision, 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.
Nāku noa, nā
Sarah Corbett
for Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade
