Gaetjens report into sports grants program ministerial conflict of interest
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Under the FOI Act 1982, I request the report by PM&C Secretary Phil Gaetjens into ministerial conflicts of interest and the Ministerial Code of Conduct with regards to the Sport Australia Community Sports Infrastructure Program, as supplied to the Prime Minister in February 2020.
In light of the exceptional public interest in this matter, which I am sure you are aware of, I request that all fees be waived.
Yours faithfully,
Andrew
OFFICIAL
FOI/2020/026
Dear Andrew
Thank you for your email of 2 February 2020, received by the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) in the following terms:
Under the FOI Act 1982, I request the report by PM&C Secretary Phil
Gaetjens into ministerial conflicts of interest and the Ministerial Code
of Conduct with regards to the Sport Australia Community Sports
Infrastructure Program, as supplied to the Prime Minister in February
2020.
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The Department received your request on 2 February 2020 and the 30 day
statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day after
that date. You should therefore expect a decision from us by 3 March
2020. The period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances. We
will advise you if there is any extension of time.
Charges
Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.
Publication of documents
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email]. If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.
Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details
For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:
· any person’s signature;
· the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
· the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;
· the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.
The names and other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless
there is some reason for that information to be exempt from release. If
you require signatures, the names and contact details of non-SES officers
or Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff, or the mobile or
direct numbers of SES officers please let us know at [3][DPMC request email] so
the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will take it that you agree
to that information being excluded from the scope of your request (that
is, the information will be treated as irrelevant and redacted from any
documents for release).
We will write again when the Department has more information. Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
Sincerely
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy | Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. (02) 6271 5849
e. [5][DPMC request email] | w. [6]www.pmc.gov.au
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
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The Department acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country
throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
community. We pay our respect to their Cultures, Country and Elders both
past and present.
______________________________________________________________________
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References
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6. http://www.pmc.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
9. https://twitter.com/indigenous_gov
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OFFICIAL
Dear Andrew
Please find attached the decision in relation to your request.
Kind regards
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy Section| Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[1]http://www.dcducks.com/wp-content/themes...
6271 5849
[2]http://cdn.mysitemyway.com/icons-waterma... request email]
[4]https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/...
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
[6]cid:image001.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[7]cid:image002.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[8]cid:image003.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00 [9]cid:image004.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00
______________________________________________________________________
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
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return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
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______________________________________________________________________
References
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6. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
8. https://twitter.com/indigenous_gov
9. https://www.facebook.com/indigenous.gov....
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Under Part VI of the FOI Act, I apply for an internal review of the decision made on my FOI request, file reference FOI/2020/026.
I note that the initial decision relies on s34(1)(a) and s34(3).
With regards to the reliance on s34(1)(a), I submit that based on the information available in the public domain regarding the circumstances in which this document was created and the circumstances surrounding similar documents created in the past, and the actions that were taken by government in response to this report, it appears likely that a significant purpose of creating this document was to assist the Prime Minister in the exercise of his responsibility to advise the Governor-General on the appointment and dismissal of ministers. This responsibility belongs to the Prime Minister in his individual ministerial capacity.
S34(1)(a)(ii) only applies if the document "was brought into existence for the dominant purpose of submission for consideration by the Cabinet". I submit that if indeed the document was created with the purpose of advising the Prime Minister on his individual ministerial duties (whether this purpose is documented explicitly, or merely understood by those involved to be implicit in the creation of the document) then the decision maker would be wrong to determine that consideration by the Cabinet is the "dominant" purpose of the document's creation, and thus s34(1)(a) does not apply.
With regards to the reliance on s34(3), I note that if it is reasonably possible to produce an edited version of the document with exempt matter removed, s22 requires that such a copy be provided.
I look forward to your decision on this request.
Yours faithfully,
Andrew
OFFICIAL
Dear Andrew
Thank you for your email dated 3 March 2020, received by the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which you made a
request for internal review of the Department’s decision on 3 March 2020
in relation to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the
FOI Act) (reference: FOI/2020/026).
Timeframe for receiving your internal review decision
We received your request for internal review on 3 March 2020 and the
30-day statutory period for internal review commenced from the day after
that date. You should therefore expect a decision from us by 2 April 2020.
Publication of documents
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...,
subject to certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any
objections to the publication of any of the information which may be
released to you please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email]. If you
do wish to object to the publication of information, you would need to
provide supporting reasons.
Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details
For documents that fall within scope of the request, it is the
Department’s policy to withhold:
· any person’s signature;
· the names and contact details of Australian Public Service
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
· the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers;
· the names and contact details of Ministerial staff at a level
below Chief of Staff.
The names and other details of SES officers will not be withheld unless
there is some reason for that information to be exempt from release. If
you require signatures, the names and contact details of non-SES officers
or Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff, or the mobile or
direct numbers of SES officers please let us know at [3][DPMC request email] so
the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we will take it that you agree
to that information being excluded from the scope of your request (that
is, the information will be treated as irrelevant and redacted from any
documents for release).
We will write again when the Department has more information. Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner
[4]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
Sincerely
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy Section| Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[5]http://www.dcducks.com/wp-content/themes...
6271 5849
[6]http://cdn.mysitemyway.com/icons-waterma... request email]
[8]https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/...
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
[10]cid:image001.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[11]cid:image002.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[12]cid:image003.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00 [13]cid:image004.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00
______________________________________________________________________
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.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
7. mailto:[DPMC request email]
9. http://www.pmc.gov.au/
10. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
11. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
12. https://twitter.com/indigenous_gov
13. https://www.facebook.com/indigenous.gov....
){kind=link}
OFFICIAL
Dear Andrew
Please find attached the Internal Review decision in relation to your
request.
Kind regards
FOI Adviser
FOI and Privacy Section| Legal Policy Branch
Government Division | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
[1]http://www.dcducks.com/wp-content/themes...
6271 5849
[2]http://cdn.mysitemyway.com/icons-waterma... request email]
[4]https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/...
One National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 | PO Box 6500 CANBERRA ACT 2600
[6]cid:image001.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[7]cid:image002.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00[8]cid:image003.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00 [9]cid:image004.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00
______________________________________________________________________
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
3. mailto:[DPMC request email]
5. http://www.pmc.gov.au/
6. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
8. https://twitter.com/indigenous_gov
9. https://www.facebook.com/indigenous.gov....