The 2024 TINZ Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Tuesday 26th November at the Grand Hall, Parliament Building and online.
The business of the organisation was conducted including presentation of our 2023-2024 Annual Report with Financials.
We thanked John Hall for his time as a director and welcomed Philippa Yasbek to the Board for a three year term. Interim director Jeff Galt was elected to a three year term and Debbie Gee and Adam Hunt were re-elected for additional three year terms.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier.
As Chief Ombudsman one of Peter’s main focus areas is to achieve faster and more effective resolution of Official Information Act requests.
He started by highlighting the purpose to the Official Information Act including the statement that:
- The purpose of the Official Information Act is to increase progressively the availability of official information to the people of New Zealand in order some text
- to enable their more effective participation in the making and administration of laws and policies; and
- to promote the accountability of Ministers of the Crown and officials.
He is not sure that the purpose of the act is always embraced by either those requesting information or those responsible for responding. He suggests that its purpose be in flashing neon lights both as requests are being made and to individuals who are responding to them.
What he is seeing is requesters asking for information not aligned with the purpose of the Act, a few clogging the system with numerous requests and slowness and delay in agencies generally due to lack of resource and priority.
His advice to his successor is to be very stoic about not letting OIA requests take second place to other priorities.
Below is the recording of the AGM.
