23 September 2022
Official information request No. 8140010502
(Please quote this in any correspondence)
Andrew Punnett
By email: [FYI request #19746 email]
Tēnā koe Andrew
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
Re: National Policy Statement on Urban Development.
Thank you for your email of 27 June 2022 requesting information relating to council
workshops on the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS UD). Please
accept my apologies for the delay in responding. The relevant council subject matter experts
have been extremely busy preparing the council’s response to the NPS UD and have only
just managed to attend to you request.
Your specific request and our response are set out below.
This request relates to the workshops the council has held relating the National Policy
Statement - Urban Development Plan.
Please send me all communications you have relating to these workshops, including, but not
limited to copies of all presentations given at these workshops and all feedback given at or in
response to these workshops.
Sorry for the broad request. I did try a more targeted request in the past, but the response
you provided was very brief and excluded all of the important information.
The council has held a significant number of workshops relating to the NPS UD. You have
previously received information relating to workshops of the council’s Planning Commit ee
from September 2021 to March 2022. Since that time, Planning Committee workshops have
been held on 2 March, 25 May, 31 May, 8, 15 and 22 June, and 6 July 2022. Copies of the
notes from these workshops are attached. Briefings have also been held with the council’s
local boards. Notes of a similar nature do not exist for those briefings.
Please see attached on the following OneDrive Link.
Presentations were given to the Planning Committee at the various workshops. The
presentations were prepared to assist the Planning Committee in developing the council’s
response to the NPS UD. These presentations discuss options and include high level
analysis and are therefore withheld under section 7(2)(f)(i) of the Local Government Official
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
Information and Meetings Act 1987, so the council can maintain the effective conduct of
public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by or between or to members
or officers or employees, or any persons to whom
Section 2(5) of the LGOIMA applies.
However, as you may be aware, the council’s response to the National Policy Statement on
Urban Development and amendments to the Resource Management Act (Proposed Plan
Change 78 – Intensification) was notified for submission on 18 August 2022. Submissions
close on 29 September 2022.
A wide range of information and detailed analysis relating to the proposed plan change is
available at
https:/ www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-
plans-strategies/unitary-plan/auckland-unitary-plan-
modifications/Pages/details.aspx?UnitaryPlanId=140
A large volume of email correspondence also exists in relation to the each of the Planning
Commit ee workshops and local board briefings concerning the National Policy Statement on
Urban Development. Considering the high volume of operational and administrative emails
this covers, let alone duplicated email chains, and updating amendments to documents,
identifying, collating, and reviewing this information would be a considerable undertaking.
To give some context, as a sample I identified the Local Board correspondence - that which
came only from the Local Board members and staff - in relation to
one workshop (without
considering the correspondence from all other Council staff involved in the process) – this
produced a large volume of correspondence (30+ emails plus attachments). Should we
attempt to duplicate this process for all the workshops and local board briefings this would
interfere considerably with our ability to perform our day-to-day tasks.
Therefore, we are unable to respond this part of your request under Section 17(f) of the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 whereby the information
requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
Decisions relating to the information that is being released to you were made by
John
Duguid General Manager Plans and Places
Should you believe Auckland Council has not responded appropriately to your request, you
have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA, to apply to the
Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of the decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
If you have any further queries, please contact me on 09 301 0101 quoting official information
request number 8140010502.
Ngā mihi
Angela Hare
Senior Privacy & LGOIMA Business Partner
Governance Services
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 | aucklandcouncil.govt.nz | Ph 09 301 0101
