Current & former politicians approved expense claims
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Much has been made about MP benefits, payouts, entitlements and pensions with this most recent leadership spill. For the general public (me), it all seems overly complicated with what was earnt, claimed, legal, paid out in the event of a change of position/retirement from parliament, double dipped pension whilst still receiving a wage etc.
Surely there's a spreadsheet/document which states these figures clearly as to who was paid & how much, lest it descend into a free for all of taxpayer funded spending by our elected officials? I'm just trying to gauge the overall budget hit to our country.
Could you please make available any documentation (as in where the totals have been fully calculated, probably previous years figures, just in case 2017-18 hasn't been finalized yet) as to how much public money was claimed by current and former politicians under the banner of "entitled expenses"? Multiple years of figures will suffice, say 3-5 years to get a sample size of what we as tax paying individuals are funding above and beyond our politicians annual 6 figure salaries. Again, MP pensions, admin, staff costs, travel, junkets, babysitters, LAH allowance for interstate meetings/sitting days (Canberra) etc.
Yours faithfully,
Cam Finlay.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Finlay
Thank you for your correspondence below dated 31 August 2018 to the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
Based on the Department's preliminary assessment of your email, it appears
you may be seeking a range of information/documentation detailing how much
public money has been claimed by current and former Parliamentarians under
the banner of "entitled expenses" across an approximate time period of 3 -
5 years.
However, unfortunately it is not clear from your email, with sufficient
certainty, the document/s you seek to access from the Department pursuant
to section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). Thus, in
its current form, the Department does not consider your email to
constitute a valid FOI request.
Nonetheless, it may assist you to know that a large quantity of this type
of information is available publically at the following sources:
· The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) publishes
quarterly reports comprising aggregate information on travel costs, office
facilities, office administrative costs, telecommunications, family travel
and employee costs. These reports are accessible online here:
[1]https://www.ipea.gov.au/pwe
· Prior to January 2017, Finance was responsible for collating and
publishing such reports (on a six-monthly basis). These reports are
accessible here:
[2]https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
· Information regarding ministerial salaries is available online
here: [3]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem... and is
determined by the Remuneration Tribunal under section 14(2) of the
Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.
· Further remuneration information (including superannuation and
other allowances) is accessible here:
[4]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
· In addition to the above information, information regarding an
annual budget for office expenses is accessible here:
[5]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Ann...
As foreshadowed above, for a request to be valid under the FOI Act a
number of requirements must be met. In particular, we draw your attention
to subsection 15(2) of the FOI Act, which provides, among other things,
that for a request to be valid:
· it must be in writing; and
· state that the request is an application for the purposes of the
FOI Act; and
· provide such information concerning the document/s as is
reasonably necessary to enable an officer of the Department to identify
it.
Accordingly, we would require more information / details from you
concerning the specific document/s you are seeking to access in order to
identify any potentially relevant documents that the Department may hold
(if in fact the Department does hold any such documents).
Alternatively, given the nature of the information you are interested in
acquiring further detail about, you may wish to consider making a valid
FOI request to the Department of Finance ([6][email address]), as the
objectives of your email appear more closely connected with the functions
of that department than PM&C.
If we do not hear further from you by COB next Friday, 14 September 2018
we will consider this matter to be closed.
Regards
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy | Legal Policy Branch
Government Division
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. +61 2 6271 5849
e. [7][DPMC request email] |
[8]www.dpmc.gov.au
PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
-----Original Message-----
From: Cameron Finlay <[9][FOI #4767 email]>
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 9:16 PM
To: FOI <[10][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Current & former politicians
approved expense claims
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Much has been made about MP benefits, payouts, entitlements and pensions
with this most recent leadership spill. For the general public (me), it
all seems overly complicated with what was earnt, claimed, legal, paid out
in the event of a change of position/retirement from parliament, double
dipped pension whilst still receiving a wage etc.
Surely there's a spreadsheet/document which states these figures clearly
as to who was paid & how much, lest it descend into a free for all of
taxpayer funded spending by our elected officials? I'm just trying to
gauge the overall budget hit to our country.
Could you please make available any documentation (as in where the totals
have been fully calculated, probably previous years figures, just in case
2017-18 hasn't been finalized yet) as to how much public money was claimed
by current and former politicians under the banner of "entitled expenses"?
Multiple years of figures will suffice, say 3-5 years to get a sample size
of what we as tax paying individuals are funding above and beyond our
politicians annual 6 figure salaries. Again, MP pensions, admin, staff
costs, travel, junkets, babysitters, LAH allowance for interstate
meetings/sitting days (Canberra) etc.
Yours faithfully,
Cam Finlay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #4767 email]
Is [12][DPMC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet? If so, please
contact us using this form:
[13]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:
[14]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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ipea.gov.au/pwe
2. https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
3. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
4. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
5. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Ann...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[DPMC request email]
8. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/
9. mailto:[FOI #4767 email]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. mailto:[FOI #4767 email]
12. mailto:[DPMC request email]
13. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
14. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Finlay
Thank you for your correspondence below dated 31 August 2018 to the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
Based on the Department's preliminary assessment of your email, it appears
you may be seeking a range of information/documentation detailing how much
public money has been claimed by current and former Parliamentarians under
the banner of "entitled expenses" across an approximate time period of 3 -
5 years.
However, unfortunately it is not clear from your email, with sufficient
certainty, the document/s you seek to access from the Department pursuant
to section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). Thus, in
its current form, the Department does not consider your email to
constitute a valid FOI request.
Nonetheless, it may assist you to know that a large quantity of this type
of information is available publically at the following sources:
· The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) publishes
quarterly reports comprising aggregate information on travel costs, office
facilities, office administrative costs, telecommunications, family travel
and employee costs. These reports are accessible online here:
[1]https://www.ipea.gov.au/pwe
· Prior to January 2017, Finance was responsible for collating and
publishing such reports (on a six-monthly basis). These reports are
accessible here:
[2]https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
· Information regarding ministerial salaries is available online
here: [3]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem... and is
determined by the Remuneration Tribunal under section 14(2) of the
Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.
· Further remuneration information (including superannuation and
other allowances) is accessible here:
[4]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
· In addition to the above information, information regarding an
annual budget for office expenses is accessible here:
[5]https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Ann...
As foreshadowed above, for a request to be valid under the FOI Act a
number of requirements must be met. In particular, we draw your attention
to subsection 15(2) of the FOI Act, which provides, among other things,
that for a request to be valid:
· it must be in writing; and
· state that the request is an application for the purposes of the
FOI Act; and
· provide such information concerning the document/s as is
reasonably necessary to enable an officer of the Department to identify
it.
Accordingly, we would require more information / details from you
concerning the specific document/s you are seeking to access in order to
identify any potentially relevant documents that the Department may hold
(if in fact the Department does hold any such documents).
Alternatively, given the nature of the information you are interested in
acquiring further detail about, you may wish to consider making a valid
FOI request to the Department of Finance ([6][email address]), as the
objectives of your email appear more closely connected with the functions
of that department than PM&C.
If we do not hear further from you by COB next Friday, 14 September 2018
we will consider this matter to be closed.
Regards
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy | Legal Policy Branch
Government Division
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. +61 2 6271 5849
e. [7][DPMC request email] |
[8]www.dpmc.gov.au
PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
-----Original Message-----
From: Cameron Finlay <[9][FOI #4767 email]>
Sent: Friday, 31 August 2018 9:16 PM
To: FOI <[10][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Current & former politicians
approved expense claims
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Much has been made about MP benefits, payouts, entitlements and pensions
with this most recent leadership spill. For the general public (me), it
all seems overly complicated with what was earnt, claimed, legal, paid out
in the event of a change of position/retirement from parliament, double
dipped pension whilst still receiving a wage etc.
Surely there's a spreadsheet/document which states these figures clearly
as to who was paid & how much, lest it descend into a free for all of
taxpayer funded spending by our elected officials? I'm just trying to
gauge the overall budget hit to our country.
Could you please make available any documentation (as in where the totals
have been fully calculated, probably previous years figures, just in case
2017-18 hasn't been finalized yet) as to how much public money was claimed
by current and former politicians under the banner of "entitled expenses"?
Multiple years of figures will suffice, say 3-5 years to get a sample size
of what we as tax paying individuals are funding above and beyond our
politicians annual 6 figure salaries. Again, MP pensions, admin, staff
costs, travel, junkets, babysitters, LAH allowance for interstate
meetings/sitting days (Canberra) etc.
Yours faithfully,
Cam Finlay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[11][FOI #4767 email]
Is [12][DPMC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet? If so, please
contact us using this form:
[13]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:
[14]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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ipea.gov.au/pwe
2. https://www.finance.gov.au/publications/...
3. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
4. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Rem...
5. https://maps.finance.gov.au/Guidance/Ann...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. mailto:[DPMC request email]
8. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/
9. mailto:[FOI #4767 email]
10. mailto:[email address]
11. mailto:[FOI #4767 email]
12. mailto:[DPMC request email]
13. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
14. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...