OIAD-1837
16 March 2022
T Austen
[FYI request #18597 email]
Tēnā koe T Austen
Thank you for your Official Information Act request to the Department of Conservation,
received on 18 February 2022 in which you asked for:
How many kilometres of your tracks have been upgraded to meet the MPI Kauri
Dieback Disease Management National Technical Specifications for Track Mitigation
Measure Rev C 6/9/2019?
How much has it cost?
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Kauri Dieback Disease Management National
Technical Specifications for Track Mitigation Measure Rev C 6/9/2019 have not yet been
formally approved and so the Department has not assessed the state of its tracks against those
specifications.
Since 2016, when the Department first started to upgrade its tracks for kauri protection, best
practice has continued to develop. At each stage in our track upgrade programme, the
Department has incorporated changes in our engineers’ specifications in line with current best
practice.
To date, the Department of Conservation has spent approximately $8.7million on upgrades of
339 kilometres of kauri tracks.
To assess whether each piece of upgraded track complies with the draft National Technical
Specifications would entail detailed examination of the Required Work Schedules for each of
the tracks we have upgraded, plus an inspection of its current state, as our district staff
regularly maintain and upgrade tracks to keep areas with kauri roots dry and free of mud.
In the absence of a set of national specifications for kauri tracks, the Department of
Conservation has developed its own track manual, which aligns with the draft National
Technical Specifications. The Department is now in the process of ensuring that the
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specifications defined in that manual are captured in the Department’s regular track
inspections and reporting processes.
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
1. How many kilometres of your tracks have been upgraded to meet the MPI Kauri
Dieback Disease Management National Technical Specifications for Track Mitigation
Measure Rev C 6/9/2019?
2. How much has it cost?
I regret that I am not able to provide you with the information you seek and I am
therefore refusing your request under section 18(g) of the Of icial Information Act
because the information is not held.
I have borne in mind sections 18A and 18B of the Official Information Act but concluded
that use of either provision would not assist in this case.
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) may be published on the
Department’s website.
You are entitled to seek an investigation and review of my decision by writing to an
Ombudsman as provided by section 28(3) of the Of icial Information Act.
Nāku noa, nā
Ben Reddiex
Director Operations Issues and Programmes
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
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