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Official Information Act request: Five Eyes UAP Caucus participation and related records - a Official Information Act request to New Zealand Defence Force
Andrew Arkins submitted an Official Information Act request to the New Zealand Defence Force seeking records of New Zealand's participation in the Five Eyes Inaugural UAP Caucus Working Group held at the Pentagon on 24 May 2023, including the attending NZ representative’s position and affiliation, invitations, agendas, minutes, and any communications with the United States DoD, AARO, DPMC, the Ministry of Defence, GCSB, NZSIS, MFAT or other Five Eyes partners, as well as notes, summaries, or follow‑up materials and records about the purpose of attendance and any subsequent meetings or data‑sharing arrangements; NZDF acknowledged receipt on 18 June 2026 with a decision due by 15 July 2026 and that wider public‑interest responses would be published on its site, but on 15 July 2026 said the information is closely related to an Ombudsman investigation and that a decision would depend on its outcome, prompting Arkins to challenge the deferral as unsupported by the Act, warn of a deemed refusal under section 28(4) if no substantive decision or lawful extension is issued, and point to changed circumstances from the US PURSUE declassification program released in May 2026, demanding a substantive decision or an extension under section 15A within five working days and noting that the changed circumstances require a fresh assessment of withholding grounds, thereby illustrating the tension between timely access to information and ongoing oversight investigations and the impact of new declassification developments on release of related records.
