Multidisciplinary Cost Benefit Analysis of the COVID lock down strategy

reason made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

reason
Sent

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

Government pubic discourse regarding COVID 19 is nearly entirely framed by public health.

It's reasonable that Government health officials, private health professionals, and some academics offer Government advice in matters related to public health but COVID's impacts demonstrably extend beyond public health and therefore outside the scope of public health advice.

COVID management strategies are profoundly impacting the economy and future generation's fiscal welfare. Most commercial industries are severely impacted , there may be serious impacts to Australia's means for food production, water and energy security. National sovereignty may be challenged by external actors.

It's reasonable that Commonwealth Government will have undertaken a multidisciplinary cost benefit analysis and/or risk assessment to examine the non-public health impacts of current COVID management strategies.

We would like to ask for a copy of these documents for public review.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Reason

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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

8 Attachments

OFFICIAL

 

FOI/2020/178

 

Dear Mr Reason

 

Thank you for your email dated 3 August 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:

 

Government pubic discourse regarding COVID 19 is nearly entirely framed by
public health. 

 

It's reasonable that Government health officials, private health
professionals, and some academics offer Government advice in matters
related to public health but COVID's impacts demonstrably extend beyond
public health and therefore outside the scope of public health advice.

 

COVID management strategies are profoundly impacting the economy and
future generation's fiscal welfare.  Most commercial industries are
severely impacted , there may be serious impacts to Australia's means for
food production, water and energy security.  National sovereignty may be
challenged by external actors.

 

It's reasonable that Commonwealth Government will have undertaken a
multidisciplinary cost benefit analysis and/or risk assessment to examine
the non-public health impacts of current COVID management strategies.

 

We would like to ask for a copy of these documents for public review.

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision

 

We received your request on 3 August 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 2 September 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....

 

Yours 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

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[14]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

 

 

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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

9 Attachments

OFFICIAL

 

Dear Mr Reason

 

Please find attached correspondence 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

[10]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

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5. http://www.pmc.gov.au/
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reason
Sent

Dear FOI,

Can we amend the request based on your advice?

Can we request the document listing the 200 documents the Department identified that may be related to the Freedom of Information request for the multidisciplinary cost benefit analysis and/or risk assessment to examine the non-public health impacts of current COVID management strategies.

Can we request only the Department's most recent version of the multidisciplinary cost benefit analysis and/or risk assessment?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Reason

Link to this Report
FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

8 Attachments

OFFICIAL

 

Dear Mr Reason,

 

I write in relation to your email of 31 August 2020 which contains your
proposed revised request.

 

We consulted with the relevant line area regarding your proposed revised
request, and they have advised that the second part, namely “the
Department's most recent version of the multidisciplinary cost benefit
analysis and/or risk assessment”, is unclear. For example, do you wish to
exclude all draft documents (which means that you are only seeking final
versions of the documents)?

 

You are invited to provide additional information or clarification to
enable the Department to identify the documents you are seeking under your
proposed revised request. Currently, the request consultation period
currently ends on 7 September 2020, hence your response is requested prior
to that date.

 

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

[10]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

 

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Link to this Report
reason
Sent

Dear FOI,

I write to reply to your 01 September 2020 email for clarification.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will have undertaken a cost benefit analysis of the COVID lock-down strategies. The COVID lock-down strategies are informed by risk assessments.

Can we have a copy of the most recent risk assessments and CBA for the COVID lock-down strategies.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Reason

Link to this Report
FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

8 Attachments

OFFICIAL

 

 FOI/2020/178

 

Dear Mr Reason

 

Thank you for your email of 7 September 2020 where you have provided
clarification on the revised scope of your FOI request.

 

Revised Request

 

For ease of reference, the revised scope of your request is as follows:

 

Can we request the document listing the 200 documents the Department
identified that may be related to the Freedom of Information request for
the multidisciplinary cost benefit analysis and/or risk assessment to
examine the non-public health impacts of current COVID management
strategies.

 

Can we have a copy of the most recent risk assessments and CBA for the
COVID lock-down strategies.

 

We advise that the line area considers that the revised request no longer
raises a practical refusal reason. Accordingly, the processing clock has
restarted.

 

Third Party Consultation

 

We are now writing to you to advise that the request covers one or more
documents which contain information concerning the business, commercial or
financial affairs of an organisation, or a person’s business or
professional affairs, and the Department is required to consult with the
person or organisation concerned (under section 27 of the FOI Act) before
making a decision on the release of the documents.

 

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.

 

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 Department.

 

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 consult with that person or organisation (section 15(6)
of the FOI Act). You should therefore expect to receive the Department’s
decision on the FOI request by 19 October 2020 (subject to any other
extensions or suspensions of time allowed under the FOI Act).

 

You are welcome to contact us anytime.

 

Yours sincerely

 

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

[10]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

 

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Link to this Report
FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

9 Attachments

OFFICIAL

 

FOI/2020/178

 

Dear Mr Reason

 

Please find attached the decision relating to your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.

 

Yours
sincerely                                                                                       

 

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

[10]cid:image005.jpg@01D30607.6CF4DA00

 

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References

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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....

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