The Hon Jason Clare MP
Minister for Education
The FOI People
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear The FOI People
I refer to your request, received by the Minister for Education (the Minister) on 28 May 2024, for
access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to the following documents:
I am requesting the fol owing documents under the FOI act:
All public speeches made by the Minister for Education that contain a condemnation about
the killing of children in the occupied Palestinian Territories, specifical y in East Jerusalem, the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the 7th October 2023. I require all draft and final versions
of these speeches.
Decision
I am authorised to make decisions under the FOI Act on behalf of the Minister.
I have decided to refuse your request pursuant to subparagraph 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act on the
basis that I am satisfied that ‘official documents of a Minister’, within the meaning of the FOI Act,
that fall within the scope of your request do not exist.
Reasons for decision
An agency or Minister may refuse a request for access under subsection 24A(1) of the FOI Act if:
(a) all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document; and
(b) the agency or Minister is satisfied that the document:
(i) is in the agency’s or Minister’s possession but cannot be found; or
(ii) does not exist.
Official documents of a Minister
Section 11(1)(b) of the FOI Act provides that subject to the FOI Act, every person has a legally
enforceable right to obtain access in accordance with the FOI Act, to an official document of a
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Minister, unless the document is exempt.
Section 4(1) of the FOI Act provides that an ‘official document of a Minister’ means “
a document
that is in the possession of a Minister… in his or her capacity as a Minister, being a document that
relates to the affairs of an agency or of a Department of State...”.
Paragraph 2.50 of the guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (FOI Guidelines) relevantly provides that:
Documents held by a minister that do not ‘relate to the affairs of an agency’ include:
• personal documents of a minister or the minister’s staff
• documents of a party political nature, and
• documents held in the minister’s capacity as a local member of parliament not
dealing with the minister’s portfolio responsibility.
I am advised that reasonable searches for documents have been undertaken by the Minister’s office
and that the Minister does not hold any official documents of a Minister that fall within the scope of
your request.
Accordingly, I have decided to refuse your request pursuant to subparagraph 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI
Act on the basis that I am advised that all reasonable steps have been taken to find documents
falling within the scope of your request and those documents do not exist.
For completeness, I note that I am advised that the Minister has made a public speech and public
comments relevant to the scope of your request, but this speech and comments were made in his
capacity as a local member of Parliament and do not deal with his portfolio responsibility as
Minister for Education. This speech and transcripts of the comments can be found on the Minister’s
personal website using the links below:
https://jasonclare.com.au/media/transcripts/doorstop-interview-parliament-house-
canberra-monday-9-october-2023/
https://jasonclare.com.au/media/speeches/speech-hamas-israel-conflict/
https://jasonclare.com.au/media/transcripts/television-interview-with-natalie-barr-sunrise-
friday-20-october-2023/
https://jasonclare.com.au/media/transcripts/television-interview-with-natalie-barr-sunrise-
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friday-1-december-2023/
I have enclosed for your information copies of these documents.
I have also enclosed information about your rights of review under the FOI Act at Attachment A.
Yours sincerely
Joseph
27 June 2024
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Attachment A
YOUR RIGHTS OF REVIEW
Asking for a review of an FOI decision
Under section 54L of the FOI Act, if you believe the decision is incorrect, you can apply for a review of
an FOI decision by the Australian Information Commissioner.
There are no fees for applying for a review.
You will have 60 days to apply in writing for a review by the Australian Information Commissioner.
You can lodge your application in one of the fol owing ways:
Online:
https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=ICR_10
Email:
xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Post:
Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
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