RE Official Information Act request CDHB 10178 and WCDHB 9343
I refer to your email dated 6 August 2019 sent to the Ministry of Health which they subsequently transferred to us on 2 September 2019 requesting the following information under the Official Information Act from Canterbury DHB and West Coast DHB.
- A copy of the current risk register for each DHB, and copies of any summary briefings, memos or correspondence related to the current risk register items.
I am declining your request for this information under section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Official Information Act 1982. The withholding of this information is necessary to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by or between members of an organisation or officers and employees of any department or organisation in the course of their duty.
Employees of the DHBs need to be able to freely and frankly share their opinions in order to create and maintain risk registers and reports. Only on this basis will these documents be meaningful and assist the DHB to mitigate its risks, perform its responsibilities and maintain the effective conduct of its public affairs.
Releasing our risk reports and registers would fetter our employees and officers’ current ability to share opinions freely and frankly when creating and maintaining these documents. As a consequence, the release would be harmful to the DHB’s ability to maintain the effective conduct of its public affairs.
In the circumstances of this case, the reason for withholding the information is not outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.