14099 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Climate Change

14099 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Climate Change: What specific directions, guidance, policies, instructions, or procedural changes, if any, has the Minister issued, imposed, or approved for any agencies under their responsibility regarding the handling, processing, or response to Official Information Act requests since 27 November 2023?

Hon Simon Watts: I expect my office and departments to comply with their obligations under the Official Information Act. Advisors in my office have conveyed to officials their general expectations that OIA responses be with them as soon as reasonably practical and that any extensions of clarifications of requests need to go through them in the first instance. Advisors in my office have also requested departmental OIAs of note to be sent to them on a 'no-surprises' basis where relevant. In responding to individual OIA requests made to my office, officials and my staff produce responses in consultation with other offices and relevant parties as described in s 15(5) of the OIA. No central record of instructions given or changes made to OIA responses as they are produced is kept. I do not consider it in the public interest to have my staff collate every instruction or suggestion for the handling, processing, or response to all the Information Act requests received by my office.