East Gippsland Shire Council Poplar Removal Program prior to stage 2 Report
Dear Department of the Environment,
Could I please view a copy of the East Gippsland Shire Council Poplar Removal Program - Grey-headed Flying-fox Summer Camp, Bairnsdale, Victoria (EPBC 2009/5017) prior to stage 2 report?
Thank You.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Schroeder
Dear Mr Schroeder
The Department of the Environment received your request on Friday 25 March
2016.
We have undertaken preliminary enquiries for your request, and consider
that the scope of your request does not provide the necessary information
for us to identify the document(s) you are seeking. In particular, your
request seeks:
East Gippsland Shire Council Poplar Removal Program - Grey-headed
Flying-fox Summer Camp, Bairnsdale, Victoria (EPBC 2009/5017) prior to
stage 2 report
Whilst it is clear that the request relates to EPBC 2009/5017, it is
unclear which parts of EPBC 2009/5017 you are seeking. That is, we could
interpret the scope to simply seek the a single document, or alternatively
it could capture all documents that form part of EPBC 2009/5017 and are
related to it. Further, it is unclear what a “stage 2 report” is, making
it hard for us to identify the time period that you are referring to. As a
result, we cannot accept your request at this time.
In our preliminary searches we identified publicly available documents
that may contain the information you are seeking. The links to these
documents are below:
The approval notice and notice of variation for EPBC 2009/5017 are
available at
[1]http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/pu...
The Preliminary Documentation is available at
[2]http://www.eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/file...
Could you please advise if either of the following links provide the
information you are seeking?
If the above links do not provide the information you are seeking, could
you please provide us with further information so we can work to refine
the scope of your request into a valid request.
You can contact me either by responding to this email or by phoning me on
02 6274 2098.
If you do not contact me by midday on Monday 4 April 2016 I will take it
that the links provided the document(s) you were seeking and no further
action will occur in respect of your request.
Kind regards
Nicole Hedley
FOI and Legislation Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and
Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098
e: [3][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
Dear FOI Contact Officer,
From the following document:
[quote]
Approval
East Gippsland Shire Council Poplar Removal Program - Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) Summer Camp, Bairnsdale. Victoria (EPBC 2009/5017).
This decision is made under sections 130(1) and 133 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
[end quote]
My query relates to: requesting a copy of this: “report to the Minister that addresses the following:” as stated in the following section:
This Section:
[quote]
6. One month prior to the commencement of Stage Two (as detailed in the Bairnsdale Grey-headed Flying-fox Roost Site Strategic Management Action Plan) and on the same date every subsequent year in which removal of habitat or emergency dispersal occurs, the person taking the action must submit a report to the Minister that addresses the following:
[end quote]
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Schroeder
Dear Mr Schroeder
On Friday 1 April 2016 the Department of the Environment (the Department)
provided the below response to your request relating to East Gippsland
Shire Council popular Removal Program Report at your right to know
address: Charlie Schroeder [[email address]].
We note that you currently have two requests logged on the Right to Know
website seeking the same document.
Could you please clarify if you intend to have one or two FOI requests?
Nicole Hedley
FOI and Legislation Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and
Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098
e: [1][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
From: FOI Contact Officer
Sent: Friday, 1 April 2016 3:21 PM
To: 'Charlie Schroeder'
Cc: FOI Contact Officer
Subject: FOI request 160306 - East Gippsland Shire Council Poplar Removal
Program Report [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Mr Schroeder
The Department of the Environment (the Department) conducted a search for
the report you requested in FOI 160306 (below).
The report is required by Condition 6 of EPBC Approval EPBC 2009/5017 to
be supplied one month prior to the East Gippsland Council undertaking
Stage 2 as described in the Bairnsdale Grey Headed Flying-fox Roost Site
Strategic Management Action Plan.
At this stage we have not been advised as to when the East Gippsland
Council is will undertake Stage 2. Accordingly, the Department is yet to
receive the report required under condition 6.
As we do not have the document you have requested, your request is likely
to be refused pursuant to 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act (documents do not
exist).
How would you like to proceed with this request? We are happy for it to
proceed and provide you with a formal decision, however we cannot
guarantee that the delegate would come to a different conclusion than that
stated above. Alternatively, you may prefer to withdraw your request,
which would bring an end to this matter.
Could you please inform us of how you would like to proceed by 6 April
2016.
Regards
Nicole Hedley
FOI and Legislation Contact Officer | Climate Change, Science and
Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2098
e: [2][Department of the Environment and Energy request email]
Dear Mr Schoeder
Please find attached the decision in respect of your FOI requests
submitted on 25 and 31 March 2016.
Regards
Alan Hilvert-Bruce
Senior Legal Officer
Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel
Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2721
e: [1][email address]
Note: The contents of any legal advice provided by the General Counsel
Branch is subject to legal professional privilege. Do not disclose the
contents of any such legal advice more broadly within the Department (i.e.
outside the scope of persons to whom the legal advice is (or was)
directed), via the intranet or outside the Department without first
consulting the General Counsel Branch.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Mr Schoeder
Please find attached the decision in respect of your FOI requests
submitted on 25 and 31 March 2016.
Regards
Alan Hilvert-Bruce
Senior Legal Officer
Climate Change, Science and Corporate Legal Section |General Counsel
Branch
Department of the Environment
a: GPO Box 787 CANBERRA ACT 2600
t: (02) 6274 2721
e: [1][email address]
Note: The contents of any legal advice provided by the General Counsel
Branch is subject to legal professional privilege. Do not disclose the
contents of any such legal advice more broadly within the Department (i.e.
outside the scope of persons to whom the legal advice is (or was)
directed), via the intranet or outside the Department without first
consulting the General Counsel Branch.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Charlie Schroeder left an annotation ()
I requested a document that had not been submitted at the date I requested it.
It's a document that must be submitted before any more action is taken on the poplar removal program.
I will probably need to make the request again at a later date.