Consent of the governed

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OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Beckinsale

Thank you for your request, which was received by the Attorney-General’s Department (the department) Freedom of Information team on 26 March 2024.

In relation to your request for the 'mechanism giving jurisdiction to the government', we note that the right of access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) is to existing documents held by a government agency or minister rather than requesting answers to questions or as a means of delegating research. You may wish to direct such questions to the Parliamentary Education Office at https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parlia....

However, we are able to search for documents the department holds relating to the "consent of the governed". In order to assist our searches, would you kindly be able to provide more information about what you mean by this term to ensure we identify the specific documents that are of interest to you.

We look forward to your response.

Kind regards
Rebekah
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | Email: [AGD request email]
OFFICIAL

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Beckinsale <[FOI #11272 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 26 March 2024 4:21 PM
To: FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Consent of the governed

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Attorney-General's Department,

I am looking for the mechanism giving jurisdiction to the government over men and women and anything relating to the “consent of the governed”
Yours faithfully,

Matt Beckinsale

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11272 email]

Is [AGD request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Attorney-General's Department? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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.

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The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the email or attachments.

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OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Beckinsale

I write to follow up on my email of 3 April 2024 below. I note we are yet to receive a response from you. We are unable to process your request until we receive more information regarding what you mean by the "consent of the governed" to allow us to identify the documents to which you seek access. Please consider me a contact person who is available to assist in revising your request so that it can be processed.

Please note you have 14 days from today to make a revised request in writing. If you do not wish to proceed with your FOI request, you may either withdraw your request or advise us that you do not wish to revise your request. If you choose not to revise your request, you will be issued a practical refusal decision under s 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act (see https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/view...).

If we do not receive a response from you by COB Thursday 25 April 2024, we will consider your request to be withdrawn.

Kind regards
Rebekah
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | Email: [AGD request email]

OFFICIAL
OFFICIAL

-----Original Message-----
From: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 3 April 2024 10:21 AM
To: Matt Beckinsale <[FOI #11272 email]>
Cc: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: RE: FOI24/161 Freedom of Information request - Consent of the governed [SEC=OFFICIAL]

OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Beckinsale

Thank you for your request, which was received by the Attorney-General’s Department (the department) Freedom of Information team on 26 March 2024.

In relation to your request for the 'mechanism giving jurisdiction to the government', we note that the right of access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) is to existing documents held by a government agency or minister rather than requesting answers to questions or as a means of delegating research. You may wish to direct such questions to the Parliamentary Education Office at https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parlia....

However, we are able to search for documents the department holds relating to the "consent of the governed". In order to assist our searches, would you kindly be able to provide more information about what you mean by this term to ensure we identify the specific documents that are of interest to you.

We look forward to your response.

Kind regards
Rebekah
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | Email: [AGD request email] OFFICIAL

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Beckinsale <[FOI #11272 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 26 March 2024 4:21 PM
To: FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Consent of the governed

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not follow guidance, click links, or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Attorney-General's Department,

I am looking for the mechanism giving jurisdiction to the government over men and women and anything relating to the “consent of the governed”
Yours faithfully,

Matt Beckinsale

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11272 email]

Is [AGD request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Attorney-General's Department? If so, please contact us using this form:
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:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the email or attachments.

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Beckinsale

I am following up on my emails of 3 and 11 April 2024. We still have yet to hear from you. In my email of 11 April, I advised that you had until COB Thursday 25 April 2024 to respond to our request to revise your request scope to allow us to identify the documents you are seeking. As the 25 April is a public holiday, we will revise this date to the next business day. As such, if we do not receive a response from you by COB Friday 26 April 2024 we will consider your request to be withdrawn.

If you require assistance to help revise your request, please consider me a contact officer available to help you do so.

Kind regards
Rebekah
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | Email: [AGD request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Sent: Thursday, 11 April 2024 8:38 AM
To: Matt Beckinsale <[FOI #11272 email]>
Cc: AGD FOI Requests <[AGD request email]>
Subject: CM: AGD to Applicant - Request consultation process - More information required: FOI24/161 [SEC=OFFICIAL]