RI and Department of Corrective Services

RI and Department of Corrective Services

(2003 F0363, 28 February 2006)

s.44 – Personal affairs 

The applicant sought access to recordings of telephone conversations between himself and another person while he was incarcerated.  The applicant argued that disclosure was in the public interest, as the information he sought would support other information warranting investigation into certain matters. 

Assistant Commissioner Rangihaeata found that, due to the nature of the content of the telephone recordings and the fact that disclosure under the FOI Act was to the world at large, the applicant's claims of public interest in disclosure of the information to enhance the operation of the criminal justice system or to enable the applicant to pursue an available remedy were not sufficiently established to outweigh the public interest in protecting the privacy of those persons to which the personal affairs information related. AC Rangihaeata therefore found that the matter remaining in issue qualified for exemption from disclosure under s.44(1) of the FOI Act.