Submarines for Australia Group Briefs
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
This is a Freedom of Information Request for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
On July 2 2024, the Australian Financial Review published the article "‘A cruel joke’: Why AUKUS might leave Australia stranded" (accessible here: https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affai... ) by James Curran. The article states the following"
"Their briefing to PM&C offered a list of risks to the project they say should prompt thinking about a plan B"
I seek access to the briefing provided to PM&C by the group informally referred to as Submarines for Australia in this article.
Yours faithfully,
Alex Pentland
OFFICIAL
Reference: FOI/2024/227
Dear Mr Pentland
Thank you for your email of 18 July 2024 in which you made a request under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
You set out the terms of the request as follows (extract):
I seek access to the briefing provided to PM&C by the group informally
referred to as Submarines for Australia in this article.
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 19 August 2024.
The processing period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances
and we will write to you separately regarding 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.
If you consider that the information categorised above is relevant to the
terms of your request please let us know at [3][DPMC request email], 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 deleted from any documents for release). 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.
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
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. [5][email address] w. [6]pmc.gov.au
[7]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[8]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0
[9]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. 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...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
7. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
OFFICIAL
Reference: FOI/2024/227
Dear Mr Pentland
We write to update you about your request dated 18 July 2024 under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access to the following
documents (extract from your full request):
I seek access to the briefing provided to PM&C by the group informally
referred to as Submarines for Australia in this article.
Your request covers documents which contain information concerning the
business or professional affairs of a third party, and the Department is
required to consult with the third party concerned.
Where a consultation under section 27 is entered into the FOI Act provides
an extension of the processing period by 30 days (section 15(6) of the FOI
Act) in order to allow the Department time to consult with that
organisation or person.
As a result the extended due date of your FOI request is 16 September
2024..
Please write to the Department if you require a further update of your
request, you can contact us at [1][email address]
Yours sincerely
Kyara
Kyara (she/her)
Adviser
FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]
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.
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 22 July 2024 5:08 PM
To: [FOI #11708 email]
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information Acknowledgement - FOI/2024/227
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Reference: FOI/2024/227
Dear Mr Pentland
Thank you for your email of 18 July 2024 in which you made a request under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department).
You set out the terms of the request as follows (extract):
I seek access to the briefing provided to PM&C by the group informally
referred to as Submarines for Australia in this article.
Timeframe for receiving your decision
The 30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the
day after the Department received your request, you should therefore
expect a decision from us by 19 August 2024.
The processing period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances
and we will write to you separately regarding 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
[5]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 [6][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.
If you consider that the information categorised above is relevant to the
terms of your request please let us know at [7][DPMC request email], 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 deleted from any documents for release). 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.
Further information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
[8]https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor....
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. [9][email address] w. [10]pmc.gov.au
[11]cid:image001.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0[12]cid:image002.jpg@01D78E24.FF2DAFB0
[13]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. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
5. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/depart...
6. mailto:[DPMC request email]
7. mailto:[DPMC request email]
8. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.pmc.gov.au/
11. https://twitter.com/pmc_gov_au
12. https://www.linkedin.com/company/departm...
OFFICIAL
FOI/2024/227
Dear Mr Pentland
I refer your request of 18 July 2024 for access to documents held by the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982.
The current due date for a decision on this request is 16 September 2024.
Regrettably, the Department is not currently in a position to finalise the
decision by this date as the consultation process has not yet been
finalised. Accordingly, we are seeking your agreement to a 15-day
extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. Should you agree,
this would make the revised due date 1 October 2024. We will endeavour to
notify you of the decision prior to this extended date if possible.
If you agree to this request for a 15-day extension of time, I ask that
you confirm this in writing via return email by COB 12 September 2024.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
PM&C FOI Team
PM&C FOI Team
FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]
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,
I agree and consent to this request for additional time.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Pentland
OFFICIAL
FOI/2024/227
Dear Mr Pentland,
Please see the attached correspondence regarding your Freedom of
Information request.
Kind regards,
Tina
Adviser
FOI Section | Legal Policy Branch[]
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/