3 December 2019
Chris Johnston
By email:
[FYI request #11357 email]
Dear Chris
Official information requests for emails searches related to scientists
I refer to your request for information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)
dated 30 October 2019:
“I need a count from the email system (which VUW have shown that they can
search) a completed table with the following counts:
a) 3 Column Headers - each with the names of the authors mentioned in this
OIA as follows: Dr Frank, Patrick Frank, Pat Frank
b) 11 Row headers: please search and count in the email system for the
following combinations of keywords in addition to the author's name. So
for example where "Climate" is the keyword then the search would be for:
Climate + "Dr Frank". The keyword list that would initially be useful is:
Stanford, Climate, Global Warming, CO2, IPCC, Greenhouse, Zero
Carbon, Propagation, "Global Air Temperature", Frontiers, SLAC”
On 30 October you also made a similar request for email search results relating to a
different set of authors and a different set of keywords.
Given the amount of resource required to process these searches, the University has
decided to charge for executing these 33 requested email searches. As set out in the
University’s response letter to your other request, each search takes approximately 20
minutes to complete and therefore the University estimates it would take approximately
11 hours of dedicated work. Following the Ombudsman’s charging guidelines, we estimate
that the maximum charge will be $760.oo. Any unused component of this charge will be
refunded to you.
Before we proceed further with your request, please confirm your agreement to the
charge and pay the full amount. The payment can be deposited in to the following account
with reference ‘Chris Johnston – Frank
OIA request’:
ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited
Account number: 06-0606-0100241-oo
Victoria University of Wellington
Please note that if you pay the charge an email must be sent to
[VUW request email]
confirming the time and date on which the payment was made. We will send you the
information within
20 working days of your payment.
You also asked the University to “point to other OIAs where the same chain logic has been
used to decline OIA requests”. The University has addressed this in your other response.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of the
University’s decision to charge. Information about how to make a complaint is available
a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Georgia Tawharu
Adviser, Information Access and Copyright