Story: Ombudsmen and officers of Parliament

A secret document

A secret document

Before the Official Information Act was passed in 1982, all government information was automatically kept secret unless there was good reason to release it. This rule applied to everything, whether it was highly sensitive or just routine. Some documents were actually stamped 'secret', such as this naval message of 1956 regarding the supply of six steel masts.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference: N1 759 40/9/7

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How to cite this page:

David McGee, 'Ombudsmen and officers of Parliament - Ombudsmen – official information requests', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/document/33101/a-secret-document (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by David McGee, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 20 Jan 2017