Rotokakahi Protest - NZ Police Presence On Site

Response

Sent: Friday, 28 March 2025 9:53 am
Subject: Official Information request - Rotokakahi protest and or pipeline

I refer to your Official Information request of 28 February 2025 to the NZ Police, part transferred to Rotorua Lakes Council on 19 March 2025, in particular:

The official requesting including date, author, recipient, nature of duties and length of time on site expected by NZ Police from Rotorua Lakes Council, leading up to their presence on Monday 24 February 2025 at Lake Rotokākahi and and surrounding areas.

I understand the Police will respond to the rest of your request.

Please find attached an email from Mayor Tania Tapsell to Minister of Police, Mark Mitchell, dated 22 November 2024 and the reply from Minister Mitchell.

Email from Mayor Tania Tapsell to Minister of Police Mark Mitchell - (PDF, 612KB)

In addition to this, a number of operational planning meetings were held between November 2024 and February 2025 between Rotorua Lakes Council, Police and other agencies to coordinate the commencement of works on the injunction site. Notes from these meetings are withheld under the following sections of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act:

• s7(2)(c)(i) ‘protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence ... 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’;
• s7(2)(d) ‘avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public’;
• s7(2)(f)(i) ‘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 in the course of their duty.’