Table of Contents
Regan Cunliffe
Law. Journalism. Media. Education.
I feel like I’m doing the best and, most important, work of my life right now, besides the husband and father duties, of course. Those who know me know I’m no stranger to the media.
Having spent more than a decade writing and providing comment about the media and in the media, front-page headlines, radio talkback and internet scuttlebutt are not unfamiliar territory. However, the stakes appear to have been raised and certain individuals have decided that the only way to address the important issues I’m shining a little light on is to play the man, not the ball.
The recent article in the New Zealand Herald appears to be an escalation of the narrative, by some within the sector, that my OIA request to a little over 2,400 schools was vexatious.
Despite this narrative, of the nearly 2,200 schools that provided a response to my 6 February request, not one refused the request under s 18(h) of the Official Information Act 1982.
The Page A5 story in the print edition carries the following headline:
It is very distressing, and the school has no means of pushing back on pointless or vexatious requests.
I am somewhat confused by this. The Herald reports that legal advice was sought on how to respond. I would be very surprised if no one pointed out that there is actually a long list of options available.
This also appears to be a common response from those voicing their concerns:
The school operated an open-door approach, and he said he would prefer people asked questions directly, rather than resorting to formal requests through the OIA.
– Tim O’Connor, Auckland Grammar School Principal
The problem with that approach is that there are no formal requirements to make an OIA request. People asking questions through a so-called “open-door approach” are no different from a formal request. Just ask the Ombudsman.
But perhaps the most galling part of the article is the headline on the digital version:
To that end, here is the correspondence from Auckland Grammar regarding my request, for you to judge for yourself.
Ags 15 April 2026 Redacted394KB ∙ PDF file Download
2026 Oia Rc 2704 Redacted264KB ∙ PDF file Download
Ags 2 March 2026 Redacted396KB ∙ PDF file Download
Ags 3 Redacted409KB ∙ PDF file Download
Ags 2 Redacted853KB ∙ PDF file Download
Thankfully, Auckland Grammar School is the exception, not the norm, for this kind of correspondence but more about that later.
This article was originally published by Public Record.
