The empowering document, documents or legislation issued by the United Kingdom Goverment or Parliament empowering the Queen of Australia
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I write to you to make a formal request under the FOI act.
I require any empowering documents or legislation issued by the United Kingdom Goverment or Parliament empowering the QUEEN OF AUSTRALIA to use the Royal Prerogatives granted to the Queen of the United Kingdom.
Yours faithfully,
Scott
UNCLASSIFIED
14/14651
14 November 2014
Scott
By email only: [1][FOI #796 email]
Dear Scott
Freedom of Information Request no. 14/235
I refer to your request for access to documents relating to empowering the
Queen of Australia under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. I have taken
your request to be for:
empowering documents or legislation issued by the United Kingdom
Government or Parliament empowering the Queen of Australia to use the
Royal Prerogatives granted to the Queen of the United Kingdom.
If you disagree with our interpretation of your request, please let me
know as soon as possible.
We received your request on 10 November 2014 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 10 December 2014. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or
for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
It is the usual practice of the Department to not release the names and
contact details of junior officers of the Department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
scope of a request. The names and contact details of senior officers will
generally be released. We will take it that you agree to the removal of
junior officers’ personal information unless you advise that you would
like us to consider releasing that information as part of the documents
you have requested.
We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If you have
any questions, please contact the FOI Section by email [2][AGD request email].
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [3][AGD request email]
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References
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1. mailto:[FOI #796 email]
2. file:///tmp/[AGD request email]
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UNCLASSIFIED
14/14651
14 November 2014
Scott
By email only: [1][FOI #796 email]
Dear Scott
Freedom of Information Request no. 14/235
Please find attached a section 24A notice in response to your FOI request.
Kind Regards
FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [2][AGD request email]
Privacy Collection Notice
When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #796 email]
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
This request has many respects of similarity to at least two previous requests on Right to Know:
Parliament of the Commonwealth: (https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/p...) Request to Attorney General's Department
Letters Patent 1984 (https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/l... Request to Attorney General's Department
The similarity is so much: if the document that has been requested actually exists then access under FOI would probably be refused because it is available for purchase or alternatively the request is not a valid request for a "document" as the word has a definition in section 4 of the Act. Also, the requester maybe thinks (probably does? could?) that the document does not actually exist and the non-existence of the document will be a proof that a fault has happened in the law administration. The last idea is wrong. But all of my statement needs an explanation. So ...
The request here is for a copy of legislation. Legislation is published on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au) and also it is published by Attorney General's Department on the Comlaw website (http://www.comlaw.gov.au). In the United Kingdom, legislation is published on the Legislation website at http://www.legislation.gov.uk . The Attorney General's Department might argue that the document, even if it exists, is "publicly available and maintained for reference purposes" and it is therefore not a document according to paragraph 'd' of the definition of document in section 4.
It does not help to say that the document is not maintained for reference purposes because legislation (if it exists) is available for purchase from Attorney General's Department. It is possible to do this online with the Comlaw website. Section 12(1)(c) of the FOI Act says that the right of access cannot be exercised if a document is available for purchase under departmental arrangement.
That is the end of the first part: if the document or documents exist, FOI cannot be used. Now it is time for the wrong idea. The idea is that the document probably does not exist and that (I am about to say a wrong conclusion) this means that the Queen or representative (Governor General in council) cannot exercise royal prerogatives in Australia. The conclusion is wrong because there is a wrong assumption. The wrong assumption is that the Queen in Australia is different in all respects from the Queen in the United Kingdom. This is not so. The Constitution of Australia does not create a new monarch. There is the Queen (it was Victoria) and her heirs "in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom"! (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/c...). So, it is necessary to look for what now the Queen cannot do because of a special law, not to look for what she can do.
I do not believe that there is any new general limitation on the exercise of royal prerogatives, but there maybe is. If it is so, the places to read will be in the Statute of Westminster (http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodi...) and in the Australia Act 1986, but I have not read these two Acts recently.
Three minutes later! I did now look, and yes, we can see in section 11 of the Australia Act, there is a new limitation on the Royal Prerogative! (http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodi...)