All documents relevant to the New M5 instrument of approval Condition B 10 -13 since the date of approval
Dear NSW Department of Planning and Environment,
FOI officer,
I wish to apply under the NSW GIPA act for all documents relating to the New M5 Instrument of Approval Condition B10-13 (which deal with Biodiversity) since the date of approval, April 20, 2016. I consent in advance to removal of any home addresses or home phone numbers. I also wish to draw your attention to the fact that I am a public interest community based journalist who is now retired from the paid workforce and working voluntarily. I will pay the $30 charge on the Planning Department Website by credit card.
Thanks and Yours faithfully,
Wendy Bacon
Thank you for your email. We will respond to your email within 5 working
days from today.
GIPA and Privacy information can be obtained from our website:
[1]http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en/About-...
[2]http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en/Privacy
GIPA and privacy information is also available on the Information and
Privacy Commission's website: [3]www.ipc.nsw.gov.au.
Kind Regards
The Public Access to Information & Privacy Unit
References
Visible links
1. http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en/About-...
2. http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en/Privacy
3. http://www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/
Hi Wendy
Will you be able to call me regarding your request?
Thank you
Kind regards
Ramani
Ramani Warusevitane
Access to Information & Privacy Officer
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T 02 9274 6597
[1]http://172.24.96.157/LinkClick.aspx?file...
General Counsel
Ms Wendy Bacon
64 Gowrie Street
Newtown NSW 2042
Dear Ms Bacon
I refer to your request, under the Government Information (Public Access)
Act 2009 (GIPA Act), to obtain following information relating to the New
M5 Instrument of Approval Condition B10-13:
“All documents relating to the New M5 Instrument of Approval Condition
B10-13 (which deal with Biodiversity) since the date of approval, April
20, 2016. I consent in advance to removal of any home addresses or home
phone numbers”
On 18 October 2016, you agreed to narrow the scope of your application to
the following:
“All Briefing Notes and Reports relating to the New M5 Instrument of
Approval Condition B10-13 (which deal with Biodiversity) since the date of
approval, April 20, 2016. I consent in advance to removal of any home
addresses or home phone numbers”
Your application was received on the 5 October 2015. Under section 41 of
the GIPA Act your application was considered as an invalid application as
you had not provided the application fee and a valid postal address.
We received your application fee on 11 October 2016.
Your application became a valid application today (18 October 2016) after
we were provided with your postal address. Unless no suspensions or
extensions of the time for deciding this application occur, we must decide
your application by 15 November 2016.
If your application is not decided by the required date (subject to any
suspensions or extensions of time), it is taken by the GIPA Act to have
been refused. If this occurs, you are entitled to a refund of your
application fee and you may seek a review of this refusal (see the
enclosed Fact Sheet “Your review rights under the GIPA Act”).
Processing charges
If you are granted access, there may be charges for processing your
application. The application fee you have paid will count towards these
charges.
As you have been granted a 50% discount on the basis of special benefit to
the public, a $15 per hour processing charge will apply after the first
two hours.
You also have the right to seek a review of our decision about processing
charges.
Inclusion of details in disclosure log
If you are granted access, the government information you are seeking may
be of interest to other members of the public. If this is the case, the
Act requires us to record the following details about your access
application in our ‘disclosure log’:
• the date on which your access application is decided
• a general description of the government information released
• whether any of that information is available to other members of
the public, and
• if so available, how it can be accessed.
This disclosure log is on the Planning & Environment website at
[2]http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/.
You have a right to object to these details being included in our
disclosure log, in certain circumstances. For example, you might object if
the government information you seek contains your own personal information
or concerns your business, commercial, professional or financial
interests. Please let me know on or before 25 October 2016, if you object
to the information being placed in the Disclosure Log.
However, even if you do object, we may still decide to include details
about your access application in our disclosure log. You can ask for this
decision to be reviewed. Your review rights are summarised in the enclosed
leaflet.
Should you have any questions relating to this request, please do not
hesitate to contact me on 9274 6597.
Yours sincerely
Ramani Warusevitane
Access to Information & Privacy Officer
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T 02 9274 6597
Dear Ms Bacon
I write further to my email of 18 October 2016.
The GIPA Act states that all applications are to be completed within 20
working days. However, where it is necessary for a third party
consultation to be conducted, s.57(2) of the GIPA Act provides for an
additional 10 working days to deal with the application. I am hereby
notifying you of the need to extend the decision period for this
application by 10 working days. If no suspensions or further extensions of
the decision period occur, we must decide the application by 29 November
2016.
Meanwhile, if you have any further questions relating to this request
please contact me on (02) 9274 6597.
Yours sincerely
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T 02 9274 6597
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D21031.429C7F00
From: DPE GC Pati Unit Mailbox
Sent: Tuesday, 18 October 2016 3:29 PM
To: Wendy Bacon <[FOI #2319 email]>
Subject: GIPAA - 2016/17-042 - Acknowledgement of a valid application
[2]http://172.24.96.157/LinkClick.aspx?file...
General Counsel
Ms Wendy Bacon
64 Gowrie Street
Newtown NSW 2042
Dear Ms Bacon
I refer to your request, under the Government Information (Public Access)
Act 2009 (GIPA Act), to obtain following information relating to the New
M5 Instrument of Approval Condition B10-13:
“All documents relating to the New M5 Instrument of Approval Condition
B10-13 (which deal with Biodiversity) since the date of approval, April
20, 2016. I consent in advance to removal of any home addresses or home
phone numbers”
On 18 October 2016, you agreed to narrow the scope of your application to
the following:
“All Briefing Notes and Reports relating to the New M5 Instrument of
Approval Condition B10-13 (which deal with Biodiversity) since the date of
approval, April 20, 2016. I consent in advance to removal of any home
addresses or home phone numbers”
Your application was received on the 5 October 2015. Under section 41 of
the GIPA Act your application was considered as an invalid application as
you had not provided the application fee and a valid postal address.
We received your application fee on 11 October 2016.
Your application became a valid application today (18 October 2016) after
we were provided with your postal address. Unless no suspensions or
extensions of the time for deciding this application occur, we must decide
your application by 15 November 2016.
If your application is not decided by the required date (subject to any
suspensions or extensions of time), it is taken by the GIPA Act to have
been refused. If this occurs, you are entitled to a refund of your
application fee and you may seek a review of this refusal (see the
enclosed Fact Sheet “Your review rights under the GIPA Act”).
Processing charges
If you are granted access, there may be charges for processing your
application. The application fee you have paid will count towards these
charges.
As you have been granted a 50% discount on the basis of special benefit to
the public, a $15 per hour processing charge will apply after the first
two hours.
You also have the right to seek a review of our decision about processing
charges.
Inclusion of details in disclosure log
If you are granted access, the government information you are seeking may
be of interest to other members of the public. If this is the case, the
Act requires us to record the following details about your access
application in our ‘disclosure log’:
• the date on which your access application is decided
• a general description of the government information released
• whether any of that information is available to other members of
the public, and
• if so available, how it can be accessed.
This disclosure log is on the Planning & Environment website at
[3]http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/.
You have a right to object to these details being included in our
disclosure log, in certain circumstances. For example, you might object if
the government information you seek contains your own personal information
or concerns your business, commercial, professional or financial
interests. Please let me know on or before 25 October 2016, if you object
to the information being placed in the Disclosure Log.
However, even if you do object, we may still decide to include details
about your access application in our disclosure log. You can ask for this
decision to be reviewed. Your review rights are summarised in the enclosed
leaflet.
Should you have any questions relating to this request, please do not
hesitate to contact me on 9274 6597.
Yours sincerely
Ramani Warusevitane
Access to Information & Privacy Officer
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T 02 9274 6597
Dear DPE GS Pati Unit Mailbox,
Thank you for this letter. I would like you to tell me the identity of the third parties you are consulting. Hoping that you can send me this information,
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Bacon
Dear Ms Bacon
The Department must consult a number of third parties including, but not limited to Roads & Maritime and the Office of Environment & Heritage.
Kind regards
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T 02 9274 6597
Dear DPE GS Pati Unit Mailbox,
I did understand that third parties with a commercial or commerical confidentiality interest might be consulted. Can you point me to the sections and the nature of the document that could make the NSW RMS relevant.
For me this matter is now very urgent. Has it taken the Department this amount of time to come to the understanding that these parties need to be consulted?
Given the serious public interest involved, I was hoping to get the documents as soon as possible.
.
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Bacon
Dear Ms Bacon
Thank you for your email.
I confirm that the Department has consulted 6 third parties whose business
information has been captured by the scope of your request. RMS NSW and
OEH are two of the entities.
I have estimated that the cost of processing your application is likely to
be $225.00. This includes the cost of work already undertaken in dealing
with your application, which amounts to $135.00. A breakdown in the
estimated processing time is as follows:
Task Estimated Hours
File searches locating and 1 hour 30 mins
retrieving documents.
Assessment of documents, 2 hours
identification of third parties
Preparation of schedule 30 mins
Third party consultation 4 hours
Photocopying/scanning 30 mins
Administration 1 hour 30 mins
Determination 5 hours Cost ($15.00 per hour)
TOTAL 15 hours $225.00
Under section 68(1) of the GIPA Act, we request you to pay an advance
deposit:
Of: $100.00
By: 19 December 2015
Please note that if you fail to pay the advance deposit by the due date,
the Department may refuse to process your application. You will also
forfeit your application fee of $30.
Please note that under section 68(2) of the GIPA Act, the period within
which the application is required to be decided stops running until
payment of the advance deposit.
Please contact me if you have any questions relating to your application.
Yours sincerely
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9274 6597
Wendy Bacon left an annotation ()
I have now been in contact with the Planning Department and paid $100 deposit
Dear DPE GS Pati Unit Mailbox,
Dear Ramani
I have now paid $100 deposit for the processing. Please forward the documents and response to the request to this email address.
I would like to stress that I regard information about risk to endangered species to be a matter of high public interest. I hope the Department will agree,
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Bacon
Dear Wendy
Thank you for paying the advance deposit.
I confirm that unless there are no further extensions of suspensions we must determine your application by 7 December 2016.
Yours sincerely
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9274 6597 | E: [email address]
Dear Wendy
Thank you for taking time to speak to me this morning and agreeing to narrow the scope of your application to exclude information that was objected to by the third party business entities. They include the attachments to the Memorandums and some of the contents in the Memorandums.
Kind regards
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9274 6597 | E: [email address]
Dear DPE GS Pati Unit Mailbox,
attenton Rahani
I do confirm that I spoke to you this morning. I agree that you can redact the material objected to by the third parties.
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Bacon
Dear Wendy
Please find attached our determination.
Kind regards
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9274 6597 | E: [email address]
Dear Ramani
DPE GS Pati Unit Mailbox,
I have paid the $8.75 and would appreciate receiving the documents to this address today,
Thanks
Yours sincerely,
Wendy Bacon
Dear Wendy
Thank you for the payment of processing charges.
Please find attached the information determined for release.
Kind regards
Ramani Warusevitane
Information and Privacy Advisor
General Counsel
Level 22, 320 Pitt Street | Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9274 6597 | E: [email address]
Wendy Bacon left an annotation ()
At this point rather than replying by writing I am going to ring the GIPA officer and ask if there is any possibility of the fee being waived and if by paying I can guarantee that I will get some documents.