Dear Jaay-H

Thank you for your email requesting documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).

I’m writing to clarify the scope of your request, and provide some
relevant background information.

You have requested the following:

a) Any ABC document [containing investigations into] the co-founders of
the BlackLivesMatter organisation [in seeking to report that they] may be
trained Marxist organisers
b) Any ABC document [containing investigations into the] potential for
Marxist ideology to be underpinning the BlackLivesMatter organisation [in
order to report on this]
c) Any ABC document [containing] a list evidencing the very easily
obtainable public record of the public and corporate donors donating in
excess of $100, 000 USD to the BlackLivesMatter organisation [obtained in
order to report on this to the Australian people]

It appears you’re seeking ABC ‘program material’, being documents created
or held by the ABC in order to create ABC ‘programs’, which includes news
and current affairs broadcasts or articles.

The way your request is currently worded means that the material you seek
would, by its nature, be exempt from consideration of release under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The ABC is exempt from the operation of the FOI Act under section 7(2) of
the FOI Act, in relation to its ‘program material’. Section 7(2) of the
FOI Act states: “The persons, bodies and Departments specified in Part II
of Schedule 2 are exempt from the operation of this Act in relation to the
documents referred to in that Schedule in relation to them.”

The ABC is listed in Part II of Schedule 2 “…in relation to its program
material and datacasting content”.

'Program material' has been described as all versions of the whole or any
part of the program, any transmission broadcast or publication of the
program, including a document of any content or form embodied in the
program and any document acquired or created for the purpose of creating
the program, whether or not incorporated into the completed program [my
emphasis added].

The types of documents you seek are clearly ‘program material’ of the ABC
so, if they existed, we would not consider releasing them to you under the
FOI Act.

However (and you may have already discovered this), there is publicly
available ABC reporting on this aspect of the Black Lives Matter movement:

[1]https://www.abc.net.au/religion/how-shou...

[2]https://www.abc.net.au/religion/conforma...

Please re-word your request if you are seeking documents other than those
that would be directly tied to ABC stories or articles.

Alternatively, if you wish to withdraw your request in light of the above,
please let me know and I will close this case.

I’d be happy to assist in any way I can – please contact me via email or
phone for a confidential discussion.

Kind regards

Juliana

[3]ABC Juliana Walsh

FOI and Corporate Governance Advisor

ABC Legal
P: +61 2 8333 5304

M: +61 424 651 229

E: [email address]

 
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the
First Australians
and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and
work.

From: Jaay-H <[FOI #6434 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 27 June 2020 2:18 PM
To: FOI ABC <[ABC request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - ABC documents investigating
marxist influence within the BlackLivesMatter organisation

Dear Australian Broadcasting Corporation,

The BlackLivesMatter organisation's co-founder claims to be a trained
marxist in an interview widely promulgated on the Internet. An example can
be found at:

[4]https://www.bitchute.com/video/l9MR4Tkvi...

The BlackLivesMatter organisation's website sometimes refers to their
supporters as 'comrades', and the disruption of the family unit is one of
their stated aims.

For example:

"We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by
supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that
collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree
that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable".

Recognising there is a significant disparity in marxist ideology and
practice, especially when compared to Australian values including the
sanctity of the family in Australian culture.

We would like a copy of any ABC document in which the ABC investigates and
sought to report to the Australian people:

a) That the co-founders of the BlackLivesMatter organisation may be
trained marxist organisers

b) The potential for marxist ideology to be underpinning the
BlackLivesMatter organisation

c) a list evidencing the very easily obtainable public record of the
public and corporate donors donating in excess of $100, 000 USD to the
BlackLivesMatter organisation

Yours faithfully,

Jaay-H

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #6434 email]

Is [6][ABC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Broadcasting Corporation? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[7]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[8]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Dear Jaay-H

Thanks for your response.

Unfortunately we still can’t process your request, as you’ve requested
access to documents that are, or would be, ‘program material’.
Explanations below:

First part of request:
A copy of the ABC report in which ABC reported to the Australian public
that facts that:
1. the Black Lives Matter organisation's stated aims include the
disruption of the western prescribed nuclear family
2. the Black Lives Matter organisation's co-founders are self-acclaimed
Marxist organisers

If there is such a report, it could not be provided to you under the FOI
Act as that report would be ‘program material’ for the purposes of the
Act, and the ABC is exempt from the operation of the FOI Act in relation
to these documents. This effectively means you can’t ask for them under
FOI.

However, you can ask for copies of reports and sometimes broadcast
segments via our audience contact processes. You can send your request for
articles and/or information about reporting on particular subjects through
 [1]https://help.abc.net.au/hc/en-us/request...

Alternatively, you may wish to make a complaint that you feel reportage on
a subject is lacking important editorial substance. To complain about
editorial matters, please visit
[2]https://about.abc.net.au/talk-to-the-abc...

Second part of request:

A copy the document recording the editorial decision not to disclose the
afore mentioned facts to the Australian public.

Again, if an editorial decision is made in relation to broadcasting
specific matters or stories, that is also considered ‘program material’,
and any such document if it existed could not be considered for release
under the FOI Act as the ABC is exempt from the operation of the Act in
relation to it.

You may also be able to ask for a response from News on this second part
of your request by approaching our audience services at the links above.

Happy to discuss any of the above, feel free to be in touch.

Kind regards

Juliana

Juliana Walsh   
ABC Legal

P +61 2 8333 5304
M +61 424 651 229

From: Jaay-H <[FOI #6434 email]>
Sent: Monday, 13 July 2020 7:09 PM
To: Juliana Walsh <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response from ABC RE: Freedom of Information request - ABC
documents investigating marxist influence within the BlackLivesMatter
organisation

Dear Juliana W,

Thanks for the feedback and guidance. Unfortunately the ABC stories you
kindly offered appear to be religious opinion pieces and not objective
journalism. Please disregard the earlier FOI questions and replace with
those below.

I request a copy of the ABC report in which ABC reported to the Australian
public that facts that:

1. the Black Lives Matter organisation's stated aims include the
disruption of the western prescribed nuclear family

2. the Black Lives Matter organisation's co-founders are self-acclaimed
Marxist organisers

If ABC hasn't yet reported this to the public, can I request a copy the
document recording the:

3. editorial decision not to disclose the afore mentioned facts to the
Australian public.

Yours sincerely,

Jaay-H

show quoted sections