Official Information Request - 6 April 2020 (Wastewater)

Sent: Friday, 24 April 2020 1:23 pm

Subject: Official Information Request - 2015-2018 Rotorua Project Steering Committee minutes for the Rotorua Wastewater Treatment Plant project - email 1

I refer to your online Official Information request of 6 April 2020 for the 2015-2018 minutes of the above committee.

Please find attached the following minutes (because of the size of some files, the documents will be sent in five separate emails):

Email 1

• 21 January 2015
• 19 February 2015
• 19 March 2015

Email 2

• 22 April 2015
• 20 May 2015
• 25 June 2015

Email 3

• 28 July 2015
• 20 August 2015

Email 4

• 20 September 2015
• 21 October 2015
• 18 November 2015
• 16 December 2015

Email 5

• 26 February 2016
• 18 March 2016
• 9 June 2016
• 7 April 2017 (this was the last meeting of the Rotorua Project Steering Committee)

The names of the committee members have not been redacted as these are publically available. However, guest attendees names and a number of other redactions have been made in line with sections 7(2)(a) and (ba), 7(c)(i) and (ii), 7(f)(i) and (ii), 7(h), 7(i) and 7(j) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. The relevant section has been noted in the minutes. Details of these sections is provided below:

7 Other reasons for withholding official information

(2) Subject to sections 6, 8, and 17 of this Act, this section applies if, and only if, the withholding of the information is necessary to

(a) Protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons; or

[(ba) In the case only of an application for a resource consent, or water conservation order, or a requirement for a designation or heritage order, under the Resource Management Act 1991, to avoid serious offence to tikanga Maori, or to avoid the disclosure of the location of waahi tapu; or]

(c) Protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information

(i) Would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied; or

(ii) Would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest; or

(f) Maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through

(i) The free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members or officers or employees of any local authority, or any persons to whom section 2(5) of this Act applies, in the course of their duty; or

(ii) The protection of such members, officers, employees, and persons from improper pressure or harassment; or

(h) Enable any local authority holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities; or

(i) Enable any local authority holding the information to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations); or

(j) Prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Complaints can be sent by email to info@ombudsman.parliament.nz, by fax to (04) 471 2254, or by post to The Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: Our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Rotorua Lakes Council website after they have been responded to, with requesters' personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about this please contact the Council on info@rotorualc.nz .

Regards