Prime Minister's calendar
Dear Prime Minister,
I request access to the Prime Minister's ministerial calendar for the period 1 October until today, formatted to either one day per page or one week to a page.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
BE
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/024
Dear BE
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/22/024.
FOI Timeframes
Your request was received on 1 December 2022. The 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after it was received,
you should therefore expect a decision by 2 January 2022.
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/
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/024
Dear BE
I refer to your FOI request of 1 December 2022, made to the Prime
Minister’s Office under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, in which you
sought access to:
The Prime Minister's ministerial calendar for the period 1 October until
today, formatted to either one day per page or one week to a page.
The current due date for a decision on this request is 3 January 2023.
We write to seek your agreement to a 30 day extension of time under
section 15AA of the FOI Act, as regrettably, due to the holiday shut down
period, the Office is not in a position to finalise the decision by the
current due date. If you agree to the extension of time, the decision will
then be due on 2 February 2023.
If you agree to this request, we would be grateful if you could confirm
via reply email by Friday 16 December 2022.
Yours sincerely,
Alicia
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: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/
Dear FOI,
Thank you for your email.
Noting that the reason for your request for an extension is the holiday shut down which for the Prime Minister's office is (24 Dec - 2 Jan), I agree to a 14 day extension until 16 January 2023. I note that the extension I have agreed to is greater than the period of the shut down.
I hope you have a lovely Christmas and new year and look forward to hearing from you in January 2023.
Yours sincerely,
BE
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/024
Dear BE
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...
Dear FOI,
Att: Simona Gory
I confirm receipt of your letter outlining the proposed charge for processing my FOI.
At the outset, I wish to note my concern that the Prime Minister has made a preliminary decision to impose such an exorbitant fee in clear contravention of the objects of the FOI Act and the Prime Minister’s previous public statements about the importance of transparency.
There is a clear and well-established public interest in the disclosure of ministerial diaries, particularly for senior Ministers such as the Prime Minister. The nature of this public interest – which is evident from the number of similar requests that the Prime Minister is reported to have received – establishes a strong case for the release of these documents with no charge.
In accordance with the relevant Guidelines, I seek a full waiver of the fees (ie a reduction to $0) noting the significant public interest in the documents. In support of this request, I note:
• There is clear legal precedent which establishes that there is a significant public interest in the disclosure of ministerial diaries. This is relevant in considering whether the charge should be waived (in this instance reduced to $0). Further evidence of the public interest can be found in the fact that there have been multiple requests made for these, or similar documents.
• The charge proposed is inflated and does not meet the requirement that the charge fairly reflect the work involved in providing access to the requested documents. By way of example, in your letter you referenced the need to consult with third parties and the large number of potential exemptions that may apply. It is now well established that an expectation to consult does not arise merely because a person’s name or details are included in a meeting. In addition, there is clear guidance about the type of information within a diary that is required to be released and the type of information that is exempt. I note that the FOI Guidelines provide that “an underlying assumption in calculating decision making time is that the officers involved in this process are skilled and efficient. For example, it is assumed that an officer who is deciding whether an exemption applies has appropriate knowledge of the FOI Act and the scope of the exemption provisions.” In light of this, the timeframe estimated for decision making in your letter is not credible.
• It appears that the Prime Minister is imposing charges for the purposes of discouraging applicants such as myself from exercising the right of access provided by the FOI. In addition, the timeframe in which this information was communicated (being late on the day that the decision was due) in circumstances where an extension had voluntarily been provided to the Prime Minister by myself suggests that the Prime Minister was also using the imposition of a charge as a delay tactic.
• The request has been made through the right to know website – this ensures that the information is made publicly available to the world at large as soon as it is released to myself as the applicant.
• There is significant precedent for the release of Ministerial diaries with no charges being imposed – as is appropriate given the significant public interest in the documents.
In addition to the above, it has been publicly reported (refer link to article below) that the Prime Minister has also sought to impose a $1344 charge to another candidate in relation to a similar FOI request that would encompass the documents I have requested. In relation to this decision and my request, it seems that the Prime Minister has, in effect, sought to ‘double dip’ and charge multiple applicants for the same work. This is on top of a decision that the Prime Minister is reported to have made in 2022 to refuse access to his diary for his first 100 days as PM on the basis of an unreasonable diversion of resources – a decision which is clearly inconsistent with the FOI Act and the precedent established in Attorney-General v Dreyfus [2016] FCAFC 119. These decisions add further weight to the concern identified above that the charge has been imposed in relation to my request for the improper purpose of discouraging applicants such as myself from requesting access to documents from the Prime Minister’s office under the FOI Act.
Public Reporting of other case:
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/ant...
I look forward to hearing from you. I note that you are required to make a decision as soon as possible and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Yours sincerely,
BE
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/024
Dear BE,
Please find attached correspondence from the Office of the Prime Minister
concerning your request made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
Kind regards,
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@01D89219.0A97D530 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/