Bronwyn Bishop Travel Records
Dear IPEA FOI Team,
Dear Department of Finance,
I would like to request under the Freedom of Information Act the COMCAR and hire car records for former politician, Mrs Bronwyn Bishop between March 2009 and December 25, 2010 in relation to travel in regional NSW.
As well as the usual travel entitlement reports for that period, I am also seeking copies of the actual bookings entered into the COMCAR reservations database including those transferred to government contracted hire car companies including the hire car company driver logs.
Please limit the scope to include only travel involving visits which include any the following locations: Mudgee, Wollar, Ulan and the Bylong Valley region of NSW.
Yours faithfully,
Evelyn Doyle
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
Please see attached a charges notice in respect of your FOI Request 20/06.
Kind Regards
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
E: [email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
Dear FOI Team
Thank you for forwarding your decision letter outlining charges. I have made a direct deposit to IPEA for the full amount owing of $67.50 which should show in your account soon.
I look forward to receiving the documents.
I appreciate your efforts in processing the request.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
Dear Andra,
Thank you for assisting me with this FOI request via phone today. I just want to confirm that I withdrew the original similar request to the Department of Finance (DOF) before submitting a new one to IPEA.
As discussed, please proceed with the request to IPEA in and consider the DOF request fully withdrawn.
Thanks again.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
Thank you your email.
I look forward to receiving the document you referred to in our conversation of yesterday afternoon.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
UNCLASSIFIED
-----Original Message-----
From: Evelyn Doyle <[FOI #5590 email]>
Sent: Monday, 16 September 2019 6:21 PM
To: FOI IPEA <[IPEA request email]>
Subject: Re: FOI Request 20/06 - Charges Notice [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Andra,
Thank you for assisting me with this FOI request via phone today. I just want to confirm that I withdrew the original similar request to the Department of Finance (DOF) before submitting a new one to IPEA.
As discussed, please proceed with the request to IPEA in and consider the DOF request fully withdrawn.
Thanks again.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
-----Original Message-----
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
Please see attached a charges notice in respect of your FOI Request 20/06.
Kind Regards
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
E: [email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #5590 email]
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:
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
Dear FOI team
cc. Andra
Thank you again for our discussion to clarify my FOI request. Today, I have emailed you the documents already in my possession as found on a publicly available Travel Expenditure Report.
As discussed and to confirm, I am seeking details of the bookings with any of the hire care firms or taxis that might have undertaken these referrals from Comcar ( hire car/taxi logs will provide details of the travel taken). Also as discussed, the request covers the the original Comcar bookings from their reservations database used at the time. I understand these will most likely be found via a search of an archived database.
Yours sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
As requested, I am now forwarding the decision in respect of your FOI Request 20/06 to this Right to Know email address.
Kind regards
UNCLASSIFIED
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
As requested, I am now forwarding the decision in respect of your FOI Request 20/06 to this Right to Know email address.
Kind regards
UNCLASSIFIED
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
Dear IPEA FOI Team,
I am writing to request an internal review of Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority's handling of my FOI request 'Bronwyn Bishop Travel Records'.
The request was refused under 24A(1)(b)(ii) as 'documents do not exist'. My request for internal review is based on the following:
1. I had emailed a copy of the travel entitlements report showing Mrs Bishop made a trip from Bathurst to Mudgee marked as 09 Jan - 12 Jan 2010. Mudgee was included in the scope.
2. There does not appear to have be any third party contact in relation to obtaining hire car or tax logs of that trip, which suggests the department did not make an attempt to check with the relevant contractor. Normally there would have been a request for an extension to undertake that task.
3. The Comcar record of the trip should still be available on the archived database which most likely would still be accessible on a desktop or a backup made in keeping with official records management protocols. (I note the reservations and allocation system has been upgraded since 2010).
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/b... as well as emails between the FOI team and myself outside of Right to Know, where I provided attachments to the relevant pages from the official travel reports from that time.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
Thank you for your request for an internal review of IPEA's decision, dated 16 September 2019, under section 54N of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
As your request was received on 25 September 2019, an internal review decision is due on 25 October 2019.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
Email: [email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
-----Original Message-----
From: Evelyn Doyle <[FOI #5590 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2019 3:32 PM
To: FOI IPEA <[IPEA request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Bronwyn Bishop Travel Records
Dear IPEA FOI Team,
I am writing to request an internal review of Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority's handling of my FOI request 'Bronwyn Bishop Travel Records'.
The request was refused under 24A(1)(b)(ii) as 'documents do not exist'. My request for internal review is based on the following:
1. I had emailed a copy of the travel entitlements report showing Mrs Bishop made a trip from Bathurst to Mudgee marked as 09 Jan - 12 Jan 2010. Mudgee was included in the scope.
2. There does not appear to have be any third party contact in relation to obtaining hire car or tax logs of that trip, which suggests the department did not make an attempt to check with the relevant contractor. Normally there would have been a request for an extension to undertake that task.
3. The Comcar record of the trip should still be available on the archived database which most likely would still be accessible on a desktop or a backup made in keeping with official records management protocols. (I note the reservations and allocation system has been upgraded since 2010).
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/b... as well as emails between the FOI team and myself outside of Right to Know, where I provided attachments to the relevant pages from the official travel reports from that time.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Doyle
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #5590 email]
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:
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Ms Doyle
Please see attached an internal review decision in regard to your FOI request 20/06.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
Transparency, Assurance and Legal Branch
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
UNCLASSIFIED
________________________________
Finance Australian Business Number (ABN): 61 970 632 495
Finance Web Site: www.finance.gov.au
IMPORTANT:
This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by telephone on 61-2-6215-2222 and delete all copies of this transmission together with any attachments.
If responding to this email, please send to the appropriate person using the suffix .gov.au.
________________________________
Evelyn Doyle left an annotation ()
I have since heard from IPEA in relation to my complaint and have been advised there are documents that relate to my earlier request which have now been found. It seems the earlier result was a combination of communication misunderstandings. Documents will be supplied in January/February 2020 after third party contact has been made.
Evelyn Doyle left an annotation ()
I did eventually receive two documents after making a complaint and clarifying any miscommunications. Both documents were invoice/records about private hire car travel records - Mudgee / Bathurst area - within the time range specified. For anyone interested the FOI was made to assist with some research I am doing into matters raised in this earlier SMH article: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a-bo...
Evelyn Doyle left an annotation ()
This is a disappointing result and I will be making a formal complaint. It is clear the travel outlined was undertaken as provided in the department's own travel reports, but the Comcar and hire car bookings cannot be found.
The response may not signal a malicious intent to conceal rather a failure in record keeping processes. Either way, this outcome does not fit well with the spirit of freedom of information nor the public's right to know about the decisions and activities of their political representatives and the agencies that serve them.