Tēnā koutou,

Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I am requesting official information relating to the potential reform of consent laws in New Zealand between 1 January 2020 and 13 April 2025. To ensure clarity and due particularity, I have broken this request down into three categories and am happy to refine further if needed:

1. Policy and Legal Documents Held by the Ministry of Justice

Please provide copies of:

Any final policy documents, briefing papers, Cabinet papers, or internal discussion documents prepared by or for the Ministry of Justice that relate to the definition of consent in sexual offence legislation, or affirmative consent.

Any legal advice received by the Ministry regarding the viability or implications of law reform relating to consent, including any review of international legal models (e.g. affirmative consent frameworks). Scope limitation: I do not require duplicate copies, nor drafts unless final versions are unavailable.

2. Correspondence Related to the Justice Select Committee’s Recommendation

Please provide copies of:
Correspondence (including emails, letters or memos) between the Ministry of Justice and the Justice Select Committee in relation to their recommendation that consent laws be re-examined. Any internal responses, summaries, or notes created by the Ministry in response to or discussing that recommendation.

3. Ministerial Communications (Limited by Topic and Timeframe)
Please provide any correspondence, briefing notes, or advice provided to or from:

Minister Paul Goldsmith (Justice)
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Minister Karen Chhour (Children and Associate Justice)

…that discuss:

i. Consent law reform
ii. The Select Committee’s recommendation on re-examining consent
iii. Public calls for the inclusion of affirmative consent standards

This includes material dated between October 2023 – April 2025 (i.e. post-Select Committee recommendation period).

Additional Notes:
I am not seeking purely administrative emails, calendar invites, or duplicate material. If any of this information is publicly available, a link or reference would be appreciated. If this request would require substantial collation, I am happy to discuss refining the scope or prioritising categories.

Please provide the information in electronic form, and let me know if clarification is needed.

Ngā mihi nui,
Layba.