Dalziel Lianne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDalziel Lianne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 06 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10856. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Labour—Christchurch East) to theMinister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: Is he satisfied with the time the Earthquake Commission takes to respond to Official Information Act and Privacy Act requests; if so why?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission): I am satisfied with the Earthquake Commission’s response to these requests inside the statutory time frames. Since 4 September 2010 the Earthquake Commission has received over 5000 Official Information Act requests. There are 17 full-time staff doing nothing but processing those requests and we have a recruitment programme to have another three staff put into permanent roles. In a word the agency is overwhelmed. I would note that the Ombudsman’s advice and comment have been acted upon by the Earthquake Commission in trying to deal with this particular volume of work.Hon Lianne Dalziel: Is he aware that over 2000 people have signed an online petition calling on him to urgently amend the Earthquake Commission’s claims management system in light of the months people have to wait for an Official Information Act request to get the information they need to make an informed decision on the future of their homes; if so what is his response?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I am not aware of that.Hon Lianne Dalziel: Does the Earthquake Commission’s decision to extend the time for processing Official Information Act requests to 6 to 7 months meet its statutory obligations to comply with the Official Information Act; if not what steps has he taken to require the Earthquake Commission to comply with the law?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No quite evidently it does not. But as I said there has been a huge inundation of Official Information Act requests since 4 September. That has heightened in recent months. What I have done is require the Earthquake Commission to work with the Office of the Ombudsmen to get good processes in place. The State Services Commission has been asked to see whether there is capacity in other State agencies to assist with the process. I would note that there has been a 40 percent staffing turnover in this particular unit of the Earthquake Commission and that makes things very very difficult but we are prepared to take more staff on. We are doing our very best to speed up that process but the volume is so big that it is overwhelming.Hon Lianne Dalziel: When was he first advised that due to the Earthquake Commission’s continued inability to comply with its obligations under the Official Information Act and the Privacy Act the Chief Ombudsman in conjunction with the Privacy Commissioner will be undertaking an investigation under the Ombudsmen Act into the Earthquake Commission’s management of its requests for official information as stated in her letter to Brent Hamlin after he was stonewalled by the Earthquake Commission for 6 months?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I have been aware of the difficulties that the Earthquake Commission is having in dealing with not only 726000 individual insurance claims but also over 5000 Official Information Act requests since 4 September 2010. We have had engagement with the Office of the Ombudsmen and we would welcome any suggestion the Ombudsman has for how this process might be sped up.Hon Lianne Dalziel: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was very specific: when was he first advised that the Chief Ombudsman in conjunction with—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could the Minister please address that part of the question.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Yes I thought I had. I was saying that this is something that I have been watching for quite a time and that as far as I can recollect it would have been in one of the weekly meetings that I had with the Earthquake Commission in recent weeks. I cannot pinpoint that week just here.Hon Lianne Dalziel: I seek leave to table the letter from the Chief Ombudsman to Mr Brent Hamlin concerning the Earthquake Commission’s continued inability to comply with its obligations and notifying that she will be undertaking an investigation with the—Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought—Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Where is the privacy waiver?Mr SPEAKER: No the letter is from the Ombudsman to the—Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: It is someone else’s letter.Mr SPEAKER: The Minister is raising whether there is any issue of—Hon Lianne Dalziel: I understand. I have permission from Mr Brent Hamlin to table the letter in Parliament.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Is that being tabled?Mr SPEAKER: It does not need to be. She has assured the House that she has got permission to table it. She is seeking leave to table it. I put the leave. Is there any objection to that letter being tabled? There is not. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.