Archives New Zealand is defending the plan by Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority to destroy documents, saying it is common practice.
The authority has outlined which documents it believes should be kept and destroyed when it is disestablished next year.
Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The proposal is open for public feedback until 22 March, then will be approved by Archives New Zealand before any action is taken.
Archives New Zealand's Canterbury archivist Chris Adam said nothing of importance would be destroyed.
But he said it was a process every company had to go through, as it was not realistic to keep everything.