Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

I request a copy of any communication between the Prime Minister and staff in the Prime Minister's Office and representatives from Woodside Ltd from 1 December 2022 - 1 March 2023.

This includes any material relating to the Government's price intervention into the East Coast Gas Market (announced on 9 December 2022) and public comments in the media, attributed to Woodside representatives.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am seeking all written communication regardless of whether by email, letter, SMS, Signal, Whatsapp or other format (including correspondence before the announcement).

Yours faithfully,

ST

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

 

The purpose of this email is to acknowledge the request you made to the
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for access under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the Act).

 

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) provides
administrative support to the PMO for the processing of their Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests.  We have forwarded your request to the PMO for
consideration. When corresponding with PM&C about this request please
include the reference number of PM/23/038.

 

FOI Timeframes

Your request was received on 19 April 2023.  The 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after it was received,
you should therefore expect a decision by 19 May 2023.

 

The processing period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances
and we will write to you separately regarding any extension of time.

 

Yours sincerely

Leisha

 

 

Coordinator | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

 

[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

4 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

The current due date for a decision on your request is 19 May 2023. 
Processing of your request continues, unfortunately the Prime Minister’s
Office is not currently in a position to finalise the decision by this
date. 

Accordingly, we are seeking your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI
Act to extend the processing period by 21 days.  This will ensure
sufficient time to finalise a decision on access.  This additional time
would extend the due date for a decision on your request to Friday 9 June
2023.   We will endeavour to notify you of the decision prior to this
extended date if possible.

If you agree to this request for an extension of time, we ask that you
confirm this in writing via return email by Thursday 18 May 2023.

Yours sincerely

Janelle

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

5 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

 

This email is to follow-up on our correspondence below and seek your
agreement to extend the processing period for this FOI request to the
Office (see below).

 

Your reply by 18 May 2023 would be greatly appreciated.

 

Yours sincerely

Janelle

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

 

 

 

From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 15 May 2023 11:51 AM
To: [FOI #10177 email]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Request for extension to process FOI request - PM/23/038
[SEC=OFFICIAL]

 

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

The current due date for a decision on your request is 19 May 2023. 
Processing of your request continues, unfortunately the Prime Minister’s
Office is not currently in a position to finalise the decision by this
date. 

Accordingly, we are seeking your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI
Act to extend the processing period by 21 days.  This will ensure
sufficient time to finalise a decision on access.  This additional time
would extend the due date for a decision on your request to Friday 9 June
2023.   We will endeavour to notify you of the decision prior to this
extended date if possible.

If you agree to this request for an extension of time, we ask that you
confirm this in writing via return email by Thursday 18 May 2023.

Yours sincerely

Janelle

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [6][email address]  w. [7]pmc.gov.au

[8]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[9]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[10]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
6. mailto:[email address]
7. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
8. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

 

We write in relation to your request under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act) to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the following
terms:

 

I request a copy of any communication between the Prime Minister and staff
in the Prime Minister's Office and representatives from Woodside Ltd from
1 December 2022 - 1 March 2023.

 

This includes any material relating to the Government's price intervention
into the East Coast Gas Market (announced on 9 December 2022) and public
comments in the media, attributed to Woodside representatives.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, I am seeking all written communication
regardless of whether by email, letter, SMS, Signal, Whatsapp or other
format (including correspondence before the announcement).

 

We are writing to you to advise that the request covers documents which:

·         contain information concerning the business, commercial or
financial affairs of an organisation, or a person’s business or
professional affairs, and consultation with the person or organisation
concerned (under section 27 of the FOI Act) is required before making a
decision on the release of the document; and/or

·         contain another individual’s personal information, and
consultation with that individual (under section 27A of the FOI Act) is
required before making a decision on the release of the document.

The consultation mechanism under section 27 applies when we believe the
person or organisation concerned may wish to contend that the requested
documents are exempt because their release would disclose trade secrets or
commercially valuable information or may adversely affect their business
or financial affairs.

The consultation mechanism under section 27A applies when we believe the
individual (or their representative) may wish to contend that the
requested documents are exempt for reasons of personal privacy.

We will take into account any comments we receive from the person or
organisation, but the final decision about whether to grant you access to
the document you requested rests with the PMO.

Section 15(6) of the FOI Act provides for the extension of the processing
time by a further 30 days in order to allow the Department time to consult
with that organisation or person.

Accordingly, the period for processing the request has been extended by 30
days in order to allow our agency time to consult with that person or
organisation (section 15(6) of the FOI Act). You should therefore expect
to receive the Department’s decision by 19 June 2023 subject to any other
extensions or suspensions of time allowed under the FOI Act).

 

Yours sincerely

Tina

 

Adviser

Freedom of Information (FOI)| Legal Policy Branch[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country | One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box
6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

 

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D888E5.6B56D250 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

4 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference:  PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

The current due date for a decision on your request is 19 June 2023. 
Processing of your request continues, unfortunately the Prime Minister’s
Office is not currently in a position to finalise the decision by this
date. 

Accordingly, we are seeking your agreement under section 15AA of the FOI
Act to extend the processing period by 7 days. This will ensure sufficient
time to finalise a decision on access, noting we are consulting a third
party. This additional time would extend the due date for a decision on
your request to 26 June 2023. 

If you agree to this request for an extension of time, we ask that you
confirm this in writing via return email by Friday 16 June 2023.

Yours sincerely

Janelle

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

6 Attachments

OFFICIAL

Reference: PM/23/038

 

Dear ST

 

Please find attached a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister
concerning your request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

Your sincerely

Janelle

 

Adviser | FOI Section[]

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

p. (02) 6271 5849

Ngunnawal Country, One National Circuit  Barton  ACT  2600  |  PO Box
6500  CANBERRA  ACT  2600
e. [1][email address]  w. [2]pmc.gov.au

[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[4]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0 The
Department
acknowledges
and pays
respect to
the past,
present and
emerging
Elders and
Traditional
Custodians
of Country,
and the
continuation
of cultural,
spiritual
and
educational
practices of
Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait
Islander
peoples.

 

______________________________________________________________________ 
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. mailto:[email address]
2. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
3. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...