A "Credible complaint of a serious offence"
Phillip Sweeney made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Federal Police
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Australian Federal Police,
The following complaint of a serious offence has been made to the Australian Federal Police:
“The widows of former employees of the company once known as Elders IXL Ltd (and subsidiary companies such as Carlton & United Breweries) whose late husband’s became members of the defined benefit superannuation fund once known as the Elders IXL Superannuation Fund before it was closed to new members on 30 November 1997 have a legal entitlement to a survivorship pension under the terms of this superannuation trust as properly construed.
These pensions are not being paid by the incumbent purported trustee, which is a subsidiary company of the National Australia Bank. The NAB Trustee has refused to follow the general advice of the High Court of Australia and seek judicial advice on this matter which is part of the trustee's duty to act in the best interests of fund members and beneficiaries (eg widows of fund members).”
The question then arises if this is a “credible complaint of a serious offence” that should be further investigated ("thoroughly evaluated)"by the Australian Federal Police or another law enforcement agency following a referral by the Australian Federal Police pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding, given that superannuation is compulsory in Australia as a matter of government policy.
Senator Nick Xenophon, prior to becoming a Senator was a member of the Legislative Council of South Australia. The minutes of a Select Committee chaired by the former Attorney-General, the Hon Collin Rowe MLC, and dated 3 of September 1963, confirm the entitlement of widows to a survivorship pension.
Many of the widow victims will be resident in South Australia since this superannuation scheme was established in South Australia.
On behalf of these widow victims (and widow victims in other states) a request has been made to Senator Xenophon to obtain a copy of these minutes from the Legislative Council of South Australia and provide a certified copy to the Australian Federal Police.
The High Court of Australia has ruled that a substantive right to a pension cannot be abrogated by the purported exercise of the amending power reserved in the original Trust Deed { Metropolitan Gas Co v FCT [1932] HCA 58; (1932) 47 CLR 621}
Millet J in the High Court of England and Wales in Re Courage Group Pension Schemes [1987] All ER 538 gave a similar ruling in relation to the superannuation schemes of a subsidiary company of Elders IXL Ltd in England.
By providing a certified copy of the minutes of the Select Committee to the Australian Federal Police, Senator Xenophon will thereby single-handedly have confirmed the fraudulent conduct against these South Australian widows (and widows in other states as well).
This will also entitle the widows to qualify for compensation payments of up to 90% of their losses in accordance with Coalition Compensation Policy.
[Note: The Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, approved 100% compensation for the victims of the Trio Capital Superannuation Fraud when he was the Minister responsible for superannuation in a previous government]
This document will also allow the Australian Federal Police to “thoroughly evaluate” this “credible complaint of a serious offence”.
Police officers have been found guilty of Misconduct in Public Office if there has been a wilful failure to act in on "credible complaints of serious offences" {Creagh v Gamble (1888) 24 LRI 458; DPP v Bartley [1997] IEHC 94}.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Sweeney
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Dear FOI,
The document or documents I seek is a copy of correspondence from Senator Xenophon (or his staff) to Commissioner Colvin (or other AFP officers) confirming that the Senator has provided a certified copy of the Select Committee minutes of 3 September 1963 or proposes to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Sweeney
Thank you for your email.
Please note that this is an automated response to confirm that your email was sent to the Australian Federal Police Freedom of Information (FOI) inbox.
This FOI inbox is monitored between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the period from 27-31 December.
If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to access.
If you are requesting personal information about yourself then please ensure you enclose a copy of your photographic identification.
Further details on how to make a valid FOI request can be found on the Australian Federal Police’s website at: http://www.afp.gov.au/about-the-afp/foi-...
The Australian Federal Police will acknowledge your request in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Act.
The FOI Team can be contacted on 02 6131 6131
UNCLASSIFIED
Good morning Mr Sweeney,
Your Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your application emailed 30 September 2017, in which you seek access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:
The document or documents I seek is a copy of correspondence from Senator Xenophon (or his staff) to Commissioner Colvin (or other AFP officers) confirming that the Senator has provided a certified copy of the Select Committee minutes of 3 September 1963 or proposes to do so.
Information considered irrelevant to the scope of your request
The AFP, in its management of FOI requests, excludes the following information on the basis that is irrelevant to the scope of a request:
- Names of AFP members, other than the Senior Executive.
- Direct telephone numbers, signatures and mobile telephone numbers of AFP members.
- Duplicate documents, including duplicate emails. The AFP will only provide emails where they form a final email chain and the authors/recipients are contained within the final email.
- Information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper articles, online publications including information available on the AFP Information Publication Scheme and the AFP disclosure log.
If you object to the AFP excluding any of the above information, please advise this office within seven days of receipt of this email.
Your request was received by this agency on 30 September 2017 and the 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from that date.
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Please be advised that in accordance with section 11C of the Act, an agency is required to publish information on their website following the notification of a decision in respect of a freedom of information request.
The requirement to publish information released under FOI reinforces the objectives of the FOI Act to promote a pro-disclosure culture across government and to increase recognition that information held by government is a national resource. Exceptions to the requirement to publish information would apply to personal information and information concerning the business affairs of a person if it was considered ‘unreasonable’ to do so. Details of the decision may be published in a Disclosure Log which can be found at https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat.... Publication will be made in accordance with timeframes stipulated in section 11C of the Act.
If, however, after noting the above, you wish to raise any concerns about the publication of information concerning your request prior to the notification of a decision, please advise this office in writing before 30 October 2017. If you do not raise any concerns prior to the date of the decision, the AFP will publish the information as notified to you in the decision.
Kind regards,
IVA (AFP22679)
TEAM MEMBER - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE
Tel +61(0) 2 61312755
www.afp.gov.au
Thank you for your email.
Please note that this is an automated response to confirm that your email was sent to the Australian Federal Police Freedom of Information (FOI) inbox.
This FOI inbox is monitored between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the period from 27-31 December.
If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to access.
If you are requesting personal information about yourself then please ensure you enclose a copy of your photographic identification.
Further details on how to make a valid FOI request can be found on the Australian Federal Police’s website at: http://www.afp.gov.au/about-the-afp/foi-...
The Australian Federal Police will acknowledge your request in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Act.
The FOI Team can be contacted on 02 6131 6131
Dear FOI,
If a claim is made by the Office of Senator Xenophon to the Australian Federal Police that the Report from the Select Committee of the Legislative Council related to a Bill cannot be tendered as evidence in a Court of Law, such a claim can be discredited by reference to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth).
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Sweeney
Thank you for your email.
Please note that this is an automated response to confirm that your email was sent to the Australian Federal Police Freedom of Information (FOI) inbox.
This FOI inbox is monitored between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the period from 27-31 December.
If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to access.
If you are requesting personal information about yourself then please ensure you enclose a copy of your photographic identification.
Further details on how to make a valid FOI request can be found on the Australian Federal Police’s website at: http://www.afp.gov.au/about-the-afp/foi-...
The Australian Federal Police will acknowledge your request in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Act.
The FOI Team can be contacted on 02 6131 6131
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Sweeney,
Please find attached our decision in relation to your Freedom of
Information request.
Kind regards,
TANYA (AFP14692)
TEAM MEMBER, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
LEGAL
Tel +61(0) 2 61316131
[1]www.afp.gov.au
UNCLASSIFIED
References
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