Resolution of frozen UK State Pensions issue
Dear Prime Minister,
Today you met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, e.g. see https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/154205..., thus giving the Australian Government another chance to use "our unique strategic relationship" to resolve the frozen UK State Pension issue.
1. Could you please provide me with any documents that you or your office hold that shows that you attempted to resolve the frozen UK State Pension issue with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff during this meeting.
2. If you DID NOT attempt to resolve the frozen UK State Pension issue with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff during the meeting, could you please provide me with any documents that you or your office hold that shows why the Australian Government did not attempt to resolve this issue on this occasion.
I note that the previous Prime Minister refused to deal with my request to him on this matter - see https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r..., and that DFAT have refused to provide documents on national security grounds - see https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/r..., but following the Attorney General's recent comments about the Freedom of Information Act on the ABC Radio National Law Report programme on 28 June 2022 - see https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pro..., I hope that you will respond fully and swiftly.
Yours faithfully,
Paul Swain
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/002
Dear Mr Swain
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 (FOI 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/22/002.
FOI Timeframes
Your request was received on 29 June 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 29 July 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
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.
OFFICIAL
Reference: PM/22/002
Dear Mr Swain
We apologise for the delay in writing to you. The purpose of this email
is to update you about your request, and advise that we have transferred
the request to the responsible Minister’s Office for processing.
The FOI Act provides a mechanism to transfer a request to another agency
or Minister where the subject-matter of the request is more closely
connected with their (s 16(1)(b)). This ensures that a decision on the
request is made by the most appropriate agency. As the subject-matter of
the documents you have requested is more closely connected with the
functions of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, than with the
functions of PM&C, your request has been transferred in full to the
Minister, who is supported by the Department of Defence.
If you wish to contact their Office please do so by emailing
[1][email address]
Kind regards
Leisha
FOI 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. [2][email address] w. [3]pmc.gov.au
[4]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
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______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Departmental reference: PM/22/002
Dear Mr Swain
We refer your request of 29 June 2022 for access to documents held by the
Prime Minister’s Office under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
The current due date for a decision on this request is 29 July 2022.
Regrettably, the Prime Minister’s Office is not currently in a position to
finalise the decision by this date. Accordingly, we are seeking your
agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
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 COB Tuesday 26 July 2022.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and quote
your reference number PM/22/002.
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: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
Departmental reference: PM/22/002
Dear Mr Swain
We are following up on the below request for an extension of time.
We note that a decision on your FOI request is due this Friday 29 July
2022. Unfortunately the Prime Minister’s Office requires additional time
to provide a decision to you. We would be grateful if you could please
confirm if you agree to the extension of time today.
The Prime Minister’s Office continues to process your FOI request as
expeditiously as possible. Thank you again for your patience.
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: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, 25 July 2022 2:48 PM
To: '[FOI #9062 email]'
<[FOI #9062 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: PM/22/002 - Your FOI Request [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Departmental reference: PM/22/002
Dear Mr Swain
We refer your request of 29 June 2022 for access to documents held by the
Prime Minister’s Office under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
The current due date for a decision on this request is 29 July 2022.
Regrettably, the Prime Minister’s Office is not currently in a position to
finalise the decision by this date. Accordingly, we are seeking your
agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
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 COB Tuesday 26 July 2022.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and quote
your reference number PM/22/002.
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. [4][email address] w. [5]pmc.gov.au
[6]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/
4. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
Dear FOI Adviser,
I agree to the extension of time.
I apologise for the delay in responding.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Swain
Dear FOI Adviser,
I believe that the extension of time that you requested has now expired. I have not received either a response, or a request for a further extension.
If your reply has got lost, could you please resend it.
If you have not replied, could you please do so immediately.
As you have not requested a further extension, I would need very compelling reasons to agree to a further extension.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Swain
OFFICIAL
PM/22/002
Good evening Mr Swain
Please find attached correspondence relating to your request under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 to the Office of the Prime Minister.
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
______________________________________________________________________
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/