Manus Island Officer Reports
Dear Department of Immigration and Border Protection,
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth),
copies of the following documents:
1) "Officer reports (including photographs)" referred to in this PDF:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/5...
I also make the application that all costs for the processing of
this request be waived on the grounds that the release of this
information is in the public interest, will enhance the
transparency of the process, and aid the public debate surrounding
government policy.
This email address is valid for the purposes of s15(2)(c) of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth).
Yours faithfully,
Asher Wolf.
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/04/00253; ADF2014/00253
Dear Ms Wolf,
Please find attached the acknowledgement of receipt for your recent FOI
Request.
Yours sincerely,
Isheeka Goswami
Privacy Administrative Officer
FOI and Privacy Policy
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Telephone: (02) 6198 7525
Email: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/04/00253; ADF2014/11960
Dear Ms Wolf
Re: Your Freedom of Information request
I am writing to inform you that I have been appointed as the authorised
decision maker for your FOI request, seeking access to:
Officer Reports (including photographs), relating to the protests at Manus
Island in February 2014.
As part of the department’s FOI service standard, I will update you every
14 days regarding the progress of your request, however please do not
hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
The current due date for your request under the FOI Act is Tuesday, 2 May
2014.
Extension of time
I seek your agreement, under section 15AA of the FOI Act, to extend the
timeframe for processing your request by 30 days. This would extend the
due date for your request to Sunday 1 June 2014.
Please let me know if you agree to this extension of time.
Deferring/refusing access to documents
As you may be aware, there are currently a number of inquiries underway in
relation to the events at Manus Island Detention Centre on 17 February;
most notably the Senate Inquiry which commenced on 1 April 2014.
Further, as a transferee died while in immigration detention, the
department anticipates a coronial inquiry (inquest) will be held by the
PNG authorities. It is common for coronial inquires to issue suppression
orders relating to the publication of information, pending the outcome of
the inquest.
I note that the FOI Act provides decision makers with a discretion to
withhold documents from release where the release of the documents would
be ‘contrary to the public interest’ (s.21(1)(c) of the FOI Act).
Depending on the circumstances at the time of my decision, I may decide to
defer access to the documents under s.21 of the Act.
It is also open to me, as the decision maker, to decide to exempt the
documents in full under the ‘Parliamentary privileges’ exemption in the
FOI Act (s.46(c) of the FOI Act).
You may accordingly wish to withdraw your current request and resubmit it
at a later stage, when the department is in a position to release the
documents you are seeking access to. Please let me know your intentions in
this regard.
Charges
I note that the next step in the FOI process is to assess the documents
for charges. Your request that costs be waived on public interest grounds
will be considered.
Yours sincerely
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E-mail: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/04/00253; ADF2014/11960
Dear Ms Wolf
I am writing in regards to your FOI request seeking:
… copies of the Officer Reports (including photographs), relating to the
protests at Manus Island in February 2014.
This email is to advise you of my decision that you are liable to pay a
charge in respect of the processing of your FOI request in accordance with
s 29 of the FOI Act.
Please see the attached letter for further information.
How to pay:
Include your FA Reference number and advise whether you wish to pay the
deposit or the full amount.
The deposit or full payment can be paid by cheque, money order or credit
card.
Cheques and money orders should be made payable to "Collector of Public
Monies" and sent to
FOI & Privacy Policy Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
PO Box 25
BELCONNEN ACT 2616
AUSTRALIA
Should you choose to pay by credit card, please fill out the attached
credit card authorisation form and forward to FOI & Privacy Policy Section
at the above address, or email to [1][email address].
Sincerely,
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E-mail: [2][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Our references: FA 14/04/00253; ADF2014/11960
Dear Ms Wolf
Thank you for your FOI request received on 2 April 2014 for:
… copies of the Officer Reports (including photographs), relating to the
protests at Manus Island in February 2014.
Purpose of this email
I am writing to you about the charges notice that I sent to you on 24
April 2014. The notice period under the FOI Act expired at close of
business on Monday, 26 May 2014. As you did not respond to me by the end
of the notice period, your request is now deemed to be withdrawn as at
close of business on the last day of the notice period, which was Monday,
26 May 2014.
The attached notice provides more detail.
Regards
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
FOI and Privacy Policy Section
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E-mail: [1][email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Ben Fairless left an annotation ()
A few things I would point out here....
Firstly, EFT is an option if (like me) you don't want to be sending your credit card details around the place: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/f...
Secondly, I'm not sure if the paragraph refusing your application that the charges be waived is in line with the Act. s29(8) of the Act requires the Agency to provide a "written notice of the decision and of the reasons for the decision".
Section 25D of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 makes it clear that if an agency needs to give reasons, they must "set out the findings on material questions of fact and refer to the evidence or other material on which those findings were based". I can't see this being done in this case. It would appear that she has "considered" it, but its not clear what she has considered.
Hope this helps somewhat :)
Ben