10 June 2024
N.S. Hudson
[FYI request #27129 email]
Ref: OIA-2023/24-0925
Dear N.S. Hudson
Official Information Act request related to various keywords
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request received on 4 June 2024.
You requested:
“I am writing to request information regarding documents held by the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), including subgroups such as the National Security
Group, the National Assessments Bureau, the Risk and Systems Governance Group
that contain specific keywords”
1. Keywords:
- "UAP"
- "Unidentified",
- "Unknown origin",
- "Drone"
- "AARO"
- "AAV" or "Advanced Aerial Vehicle"
- "Balloon" or "Balloons"
-"NORAD" or "North American Aerospace Defense Command"
2. Documents and Timeframe:
- Please provide a list of documents, including files, emails, memos, or any other
relevant records, that SEPARATELY contain any of the the specified keywords from
the year 2019 to the present date.
3. Format of Information:
- I request that the information be provided in a spreadsheet that includes the title or
description of each document, along with the date of creation or receipt, and any
additional metadata available.
4. Further Details:
- If the list of documents containing the specified keywords is extensive, I am willing to
submit separate requests for each year or Keyword to facilitate the processing of
information.
5. Fees and Costs:
- Please inform me in advance if there are any fees associated with processing this
request. I am prepared to cover reasonable costs, if applicable.”
We have assessed the extent of work to collate the information you have requested and
have determined the manual work required to collate the information would have a significant
impact on the day-to-day operations of DPMC.
4889549
Executive Wing, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand 6011
64 4 817 9698 www.dpmc.govt.nz
We have considered whether extending or charging would enable us to provide the
information you are seeking, however we have determined that neither of these would lift the
administrative burden.
We also considered consulting with you for a refinement of your request which would enable
us to respond. However the amount of information requested, and the need to search
through a large number of documents, means a refinement would also fail to alleviate the
administrative burden.
Therefore we are refusing your request, in full, under section 18(f) of the Act, as the
information you requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or
research:
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision under
section 28(3) of the Act.
We do not intend to publish this response on the Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet’s website.
Yours sincerely
Bridget White
Executive Director
National Security Group
4889549
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