15 April 2024
Andrew Ecclestone
[FYI request #26285 email]
Dear Andrew
Official Information Request
Our Ref: OIA 2024-0076
I refer to your official information request received on 2 April 2024 where you have asked:
“In October 2017 the State Services Commission provided to the Prime Minister a 'Briefing to the
Incoming Government'.
A copy of the State Services Commissioner's letter to the Prime Minister is published on your
website here: https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/publications/briefing-to-the-incoming-
government-november-2017.
However, the link on that page to the Briefing itself is broken and a search of your website and
publications does not provide a link to the document itself.
I can also find no reference on your website to any 'Briefing to the Incoming Government'
provided after the 2023 general election, or to any provided after the 2020 general election, but
I know the 2017 briefing was not exceptional as I have a copy of the 2014 Briefing to the Incoming
Government.
I would therefore like to request the following information:
1) An unredacted copy of the Briefing to the Incoming Government sent to the Prime Minister in
2017;
2) An unredacted copy of any briefing, or briefings, to the incoming Government sent to any
minister after the 2020 general election; and
3) An unredacted copy of the covering letters that were sent by the Commission to any minister
who was provided with a briefing, or briefings, to the incoming government after the 2020
general election;
4) An unredacted copy of any briefing, or briefings, to the incoming Government sent to any
minister after the 2023 general election; and
5) An unredacted copy of the covering letters that were sent by the Commission to any minister
who was provided with a briefing, or briefings, to the incoming government after the 2023
general election.
To be clear, I am not requesting the post-elecItion briefings to individual incoming State Services
or Public Service ministers, unless they were the recipients of the Briefings to the Incoming
Government.
Level 10, RBNZ Building | 2 The Terrace | PO Box 329
Wel ington 6140 | New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 6600
Under section 16(2) of the OIA my preferences are (a) to receive a copy of the whole of each
document (b) that the information is disclosed in a text searchable format, either Word or PDF,
and (c) that it is sent to the email address from which the Commission received this request.”
Our response
In response to part one of your request, the briefing to the incoming government – 2017 was archived
when our website was upgraded. This is now publicly available again at the following link on Te Kawa
Mataaho Public Service Commission’s website
: Briefing to the Incoming Government - November
2017 - Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission. There were no briefings or covering letters sent by Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission to
the incoming government fol owing the 2020 or 2023 general elections. We are therefore refusing
those parts of your request under section 18(e) of the Official Information Act 1982 on the grounds the
information does not exist.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact
[email address]. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that we intend to publish this letter (with your personal details removed) on the Te Kawa
Mataaho Public Service Commission’s website.
Yours sincerely
Nicky Dirks
Manager – Ministerial and Executive Services
Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission
Document Outline
