Ombudsman rules that CYF did not have to disclose site info

The public does not have the right to know the location of four sites that were considered for the home of a youth prison, the Ombudsman has ruled.

Child, Youth and Family (CYF) shortlisted four prospective sites for the youth prison and decided on the final site secretly before paying $1.2 million for the land at Kaharoa, a lifestyle block area near Lake Rotorua.

An Official Information Act request by Rotorua's Daily Post newspaper was turned by CYF.

CYF's basis for refusal included "commercial sensitivity" and shielding the sites' owners from adverse public reaction.

Ombudsman Mel Smith found that CYF was right to not disclose where the sites were.

"Balancing the competing interests in a case such as this was not an easy exercise," he said.

Mr Smith concluded that the public interest in CYF and prospective vendors being able to negotiate contracts free from public pressure was not outweighed by the public interest in disclosure.

Kaharoa Prison Action Group spokesman Don Hammond told the Daily Post he was intrigued by the Ombudsman's decision and wondered how such a conclusion had been reached.

- NZPA