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 P Robins,

 

I acknowledge receipt of your email below received today Friday 04 October
2024 which you submitted an Official Information Act request as follows:

Your OIA Request:

o request all communications related to the independent advice you
publicly referred to in order to support the proposed reduction in
excise on heated tobacco products.
o This includes any discussions within your office (including between
you and your staff) and between you and your office with other
ministers and ministerial offices about gathering information to
support this excise reduction. It should include articles that were
identified but not released and any communications that mention the
six articles released.
o For clarity, "communications" encompasses all forms of electronic and
written correspondence, including but not limited to emails, text
messages, messaging apps (such as WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, and
Telegram), and handwritten notes (such as in notebooks, minutes or
other records of meetings, post-it notes).

 

Minister Hon Casey Costello is considering your official request in
accordance with the Act, and you can expect a response by Friday 04
November 2024.

 

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

2.054 PH, Parliament Buildings,Wellington 6160, New Zealand

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.

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: P Robins <[FOI #28645 email]>
Sent: Friday, October 4, 2024 7:54 AM
To: Casey Costello (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Communications

 

Dear Casey Costello,

 

I am writing to request all communications related to the independent
advice you publicly referred to in order to support the proposed reduction
in excise on heated tobacco products.

 

This includes any discussions within your office (including between you
and your staff) and between you and your office with other ministers and
ministerial offices about gathering information to support this excise
reduction. It should include articles that were identified but not
released and any communications that mention the six articles released.

 

For clarity, "communications" encompasses all forms of electronic and
written correspondence, including but not limited to emails, text
messages, messaging apps (such as WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, and Telegram),
and handwritten notes (such as in notebooks, minutes or other records of
meetings, post-it notes).

 

Yours faithfully,

 

P Robins

 

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[2][FOI #28645 email]

 

Is [3][Casey Costello request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Casey Costello? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[4]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[5]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

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Hi P Robins,

Could you please clarify the concerns you have about blanket withholding of information? The only information that has been withheld is discussions within the Minister's office.

Kind regards,

Travis

Travis Ancelet (PhD, MBA) | Ministerial Advisor |Office of Hon Casey Costello
Minister of Customs | Minister for Seniors
Associate Minister of Immigration | Associate Minister of Health | Associate Minister of Police
2.054 PH, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
E: [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: P Robins <[FOI #28645 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 24 November 2024 9:09 PM
To: Casey Costello (MIN) <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Communications

Dear Office of Casey Costello,

I am writing in relation to your response to my Official Information Act (OIA) request in which information has been withheld on a blanket basis. It is my understanding that the OIA requires information to be withheld on a case-by-case basis, with specific justifications for each item, and a blanket refusal does not align with the Act’s provisions.

Additionally, the Ombudsman advises that disputes should first be resolved directly between the parties before formal steps are taken. In light of this, I respectfully request that you reconsider your decision and provide a more detailed explanation, outlining the specific exemptions applied.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

P Robins

-----Original Message-----

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #28645 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fyi....

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

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________________________________

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Hi

 

I am away on annual leave until 6 December. Please touch base with Richard
Ninness ([email address]) if you need something
urgently. Otherwise, I'll get back to you when I return to the office. 

 

Cheers

 

Travis

 

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