Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2019 06:51:27 +0000
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Stephanie Foster
From: DB <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx>
To: FOI <
xxx@xxx.xxx.xx>
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
This article in the Guardian concerns endemic lawlessness in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s FOI team -
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/26/whistleblower-hits-out-at-pms-department-over-pervasive-and-toxic-disregard-for-law. Presumably that corruption has been carried out at the request of the Prime Minister.
I note from the Department’s organisational chart that Stephanie Foster has oversight of and is responsible for the Department’s FOI processing team.
As I understand, Stephanie Foster developed her particular brand of public sector ethics as Deputy Public Service Commissioner under the tutelage of former Public Service Commissioner and corrupt Liberal Party / IPA grub, John Lloyd.
I note that in Senate Estimates in June last year,
https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22committees/estimate/2a68051b-8381-4a3c-b6a1-24c5cbe554b7/0000%22 Ms Foster seems to have actively defended and ran interference for Mr Lloyd’s corruption in public office.
For example, despite being aware:
i)of the particulars of Mr Lloyd’s corrupt conduct in public office;
ii)that it was the view of Mr Robert Cornall, (who, in contrast, is a highly respected and esteemed public servant) that Mr Lloyd’s conduct was prima facie illegal; and
iii)that Mr Lloyd was the subject of an ongoing investigation into his corruption -
Ms Foster gave evidence, effectively sub judice, to the Australian Parliament, that Mr Lloyd had conducted his role “professionally and objectively”.
Less than two months later, entirely predictably for anyone that has had anything to do with Mr Lloyd, the Merit Protection Commissioner found Mr Lloyd to be corrupt.
Noting the corruption to which the Guardian article mentioned above refers has presumably been carried out under Ms Foster’s watch, coincidentally or otherwise, it seems that wherever Ms Foster goes, public sector corruption follows.
I note that under the Public Service Act 1999 and the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2016, it is illegal for a public servant to turn a blind eye, to conceal, or to fail to take action to address, corruption.
Under the FOI Act, I seek copies of any emails in Ms Foster’s email account that relate to the matters referred to in the above-mentioned Guardian article. I constrain my request to documents dated between Monday 24 June 2019 to Friday 28 June 2019 (inclusive). These dates should capture when Guardian journalists made inquiries of the Department in relation to these matters and how the fallout was dealt with by Ms Foster, being the highly paid senior executive with oversight of the Department’s corruption identified in the article. The documents the subject of my request are in the public interest because they will provide evidence as to whether a highly paid, very senior, public servant in the Prime Minister’s Department has countenanced public sector corruption.
Regards
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