Tēnā koe Ministry of Justice,

The Ombudsman is one of Aotearoa’s most senior constitutional positions. As such there is considerable public interest in the fact that no process to appoint a successor to the current Chief Ombudsman was apparently initiated ahead of him reaching the statutory age for resignation of his position.

Since the Ministry administers the Ombudsmen Act 1975 we are writing to request the following information:

1. All advice, briefings and intra-Ministry communications regarding (a) amendment of any aspect of sections 3-8 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 and (b) the Chief Ombudsman’s resignation and the process to appoint a new Ombudsman; both within the period from 1 January 2020 to date.

2. All correspondence between the Ministry and the Chief Ombudsman regarding amendment of any aspect of sections 3-8 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 from 1 January 2020 to date.

3. All correspondence between the Ministry and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and officials in his office regarding (a) amendment of any aspect of sections 3-8 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 and (b) appointment or reappointment of an Ombudsman; both within the period from 1 January 2020 to date.

4. All correspondence between the Ministry and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and officials in his office regarding (a) amendment of any aspect of sections 3-8 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975 and (b) appointment or reappointment of an Ombudsman; both within the period from 1 January 2020 to date.

Under section 16 of the Official Information Act, our 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, (c) that it does not have a watermark of ‘Released under the Official Information Act’ or similar across the text and (d) that it is sent to the email address from which the Ministry received this request.

If the Ministry decides that there is 'good reason' under the OIA to withhold any of the information we are requesting, then under section 19(a)(ii) of the OIA, we further request that the Ministry provide us with the grounds in support of each withholding reason cited for refusal and the public interest factors favouring disclosure that the Ministry considered.

If the volume of information within the scope of our request is such that the Ministry is considering refusal under section 18(f), or any clarification is needed, please consult with us before making your decision on our request.

Ngā mihi,

New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties