工党：地震管委会阻碍资讯流通引致官方介入调查

政府的首席申诉专员将联手保密专员展开对地震委员会官方信息管理方式的正式调查。日前，工党震后恢复事务发言人莉安•达泽尔在国会公布了这一消息。首席申诉专员Beverley Wakem夫人在她写给前基督城居民Brent H

首席申诉专员Beverley Wakem夫人在她写给前基督城居民Brent Hamlin的信中说到，鉴于地震管委会“始终不能遵循官方信息法和隐私法办事”，她将对此展开调查。

本应在20个工作日之内就该得到的资讯，Hamlin先生却费尽周折、花6个月时间才得到。

莉安•达泽尔议员本月6日将首席专员的这封信提呈国会，并指出真正的悲剧在于所发生的一切本来完全可以避免。

工党的议员们从一开始就在呼吁应当对受地震影响的居民们全面开放资讯。原本是一个电话就能搞定的事，人们却被告知需要动用到官方信息法，这实在太荒谬了。

Hamlin先生的遭遇并非孤例。目前已有2000多位新西兰人网上联名签署请愿书，要求布朗尼（Gerry Brownlee）部长紧急修改向地震管委会求偿的管理流程。

请愿书中指出地震管委会几乎没有与受灾群众作任何沟通，人们获得一点点可怜的讯息也几乎都是要么前后不一致、不准确，要么就得等上长达数月、通过递交官方信息申请来获得关乎自己住房命运的资讯。

布朗尼先生表示他对请愿书一无所知，说EQC在处理官方信息申请的部门人员流动性极大，达到40%，还说他记不清自己何时被告知申诉专员要展开调查了。

如此推脱太说不过去了。责任止于布朗尼先生，他就必须为此担责。

他明知花6到7个月时间来答复官方信息请求意味着地震管委会并未遵循官方信息法案的规定，对此他却没采取任何措施。他甚至连地震管委会什么时候告诉他申诉专员将展开调查都记不得。

无论是地震管委会、还是部长，都不能凌驾于法律之上。

Hamlin先生只能援引官方信息法案为自己维权，因为他实在是太多次被拒之门外了。

（LianneDalziel议员授权，惠灵顿国会大厦。霍建强议员办公室供稿）

Lianne
DALZIEL
Earthquake Recovery Spokesperson                     

6 June 2013                                               MEDIA STATEMENT

EQC stonewalling on information sparks official investigation
The chief ombudsman, in conjunction with the privacy commissioner, is to launch an investigation into the Earthquake Commission’s handling of official information requests, Labour’s Earthquake Recovery spokesperson, LianneDalziel, revealed in Parliament today.

In a letter to former Christchurch resident, Brent Hamlin, chief ombudsman, Dame Beverley Wakem, said she would conduct the investigation because of EQC'S ‘continued inability to comply with its obligations under the Official Information Act and Privacy Act’.

Mr Hamlin had struggled for six months to obtain information that should have been available in 20 working days.

In tabling the letter in Parliament today, LianneDalziel said that the real tragedy was that this was all avoidable.

"Labour MPs have been calling for information to be freely available to affected residents right from the outset. It is ridiculous that people are told they need to use the Official Information Act when a quick phone call would do.

“Mr Hamlin’s is not an isolated case. More than 2000 New Zealanders having signed an on-line petition calling on the Minister, Gerry Brownlee, to urgently amend the EQC claims management process.

“The petition notes an almost complete lack of communication from EQC, and points out that what little information is available is generally inconsistent, incorrect, or that people have to wait months for an Official Information Request to get the information needed to make an informed decision on the future of their homes.

"Mr Brownlee says he is unaware of the petition, that EQC has a 40 per cent staff turnover in the section that deals with OIA requests and that he could not remember exactly when he was advised the ombudsman was initiating an inquiry.

“That is not good enough. The buck stops with Mr Brownlee and he must take responsibility for this.

"He has known for months that taking 6 to 7 months to answer OIA requests means EQC is not complying with the Official Information Act, and yet he has done nothing.  He can’t remember when EQC told him the Ombudsman was going to commence an investigation.

"EQC is not above the law and neither is the Minister.

"Mr Hamlin only invoked his rights under the Official Information Act because he had been stonewalled so many times.”