Last month, we learned that the government had considered refusing to renew the passports of student loan debtors. People were naturally curious about this, and so someone used FYI, the public OIA request website, to request all advice from the Department of Internal Affairs about the proposal. As the body responsible for issuing passports, you'd expect them to know something about it. But apparently not:
The information you have requested is more closely connected to the functions of the Inland Revenue Department. I have therefore transferred your request to IRD for consideration...
So, the department you'd expect to be responsible for the policy doesn't know anything about it. I think that speaks for itself about the seriousness of the proposal.
