TPP Negoti
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
On the 12th of January the Daily Telegraph ran an article in which the minister is reported as dismissing critics of the trans-pacific partnership agreement, labeling it nonsense to suggest that people were "in the dark" as regards the agreement. It is highly encouraging and refreshing to note the minister's approach to transparency and openness.
Subsequently I am writing to request under the Freedom of Information Act, the most recent working draft of the agreement.
Yours faithfully,
Geordie Guy
Dear Mr Guy
Thank you for your email dated 13 January 2014 in which you seek access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to:
“the most recent working draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.”
Searches are now being undertaken in relevant areas of the Department for documents relevant to your request. I will contact you again once the searches have been completed.
Scope of request:
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large for processing, the Department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the request.
Charges:
Please note that the Department issues charges for processing FOI requests. We will advise you of these charges when we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your request.
Timing of release:
As the subject matter of your request will require DFAT to upload any documents released to you to the Department’s FOI Disclosure Log, I take this opportunity to advise you that the Department’s policy is to upload released documents within one business day of your receipt of the documents.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me on (02) 6261 3135 or by email to: [email address].
Please note a copy of this email has been sent to Ms Indra McCormick, Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section, Domestic Legal Branch for her information.
Yours sincerely
Claudia Hernandez
Executive Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section
Domestic Legal Branch
International Organisations and Legal Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
E: [email address]
T: +61 2 6261 3135
W: www.dfat.gov.au
Part-Time Hours: Monday, Tuesday & Friday
-----Original Message-----
From: Geordie Guy [mailto:[FOI #505 email]]
Sent: Monday, 13 January 2014 2:08 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - TPP Negoti
Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
On the 12th of January the Daily Telegraph ran an article in which the minister is reported as dismissing critics of the trans-pacific partnership agreement, labeling it nonsense to suggest that people were "in the dark" as regards the agreement. It is highly encouraging and refreshing to note the minister's approach to transparency and openness.
Subsequently I am writing to request under the Freedom of Information Act, the most recent working draft of the agreement.
Yours faithfully,
Geordie Guy
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #505 email]
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Dear FOI,
Under normal circumstances, and unless my maths is out (which it routinely is), the department was required by law to have replied to my request by yesterday, the 12th of February. Could I please have an update on where we are up to and the reason for the delay?
Yours sincerely,
Geordie Guy
Dear Mr Guy,
As your request was received on 13 January, the statutory time period began the day after receipt of the request, on 14 January (section 15 (5) of the FOI Act refers). Therefore, the statutory deadline is today.
Please find attached the outcome letter in relation to your request.
Yours sincerely,
Ada Cheung
Executive Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section
Corporate Law Branch
Legal Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Tel: +61 2 6261 3470
Fax: +61 2 6261 2144
-----Original Message-----
From: Geordie Guy [mailto:[FOI #505 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 13 February 2014 8:16 AM
To: FOI
Subject: Re: Acknowledgement of FOI Request - Ref: 1401-F737 [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear FOI,
Under normal circumstances, and unless my maths is out (which it routinely is), the department was required by law to have replied to my request by yesterday, the 12th of February. Could I please have an update on where we are up to and the reason for the delay?
Yours sincerely,
Geordie Guy
-----Original Message-----
Dear Mr Guy
Thank you for your email dated 13 January 2014 in which you seek access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to:
“the most recent working draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.”
Searches are now being undertaken in relevant areas of the Department for documents relevant to your request. I will contact you again once the searches have been completed.
Scope of request:
If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large for processing, the Department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the request.
Charges:
Please note that the Department issues charges for processing FOI requests. We will advise you of these charges when we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your request.
Timing of release:
As the subject matter of your request will require DFAT to upload any documents released to you to the Department’s FOI Disclosure Log, I take this opportunity to advise you that the Department’s policy is to upload released documents within one business day of your receipt of the documents.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me on (02) 6261 3135 or by email to: [email address].
Please note a copy of this email has been sent to Ms Indra McCormick, Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section, Domestic Legal Branch for her information.
Yours sincerely
Claudia Hernandez
Executive Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section Domestic Legal Branch International Organisations and Legal Division Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
E: [email address]
T: +61 2 6261 3135
W: www.dfat.gov.au
Part-Time Hours: Monday, Tuesday & Friday
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #505 email]
Write your response as plain text. Only send PDF documents as a last resort. Government guidelines make it clear that PDF is not an acceptable format for you to use in the delivery of government information.
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
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Dear Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review under S54 of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's handling of my FOI request seeking access to the most recent draft of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.
The basis for my original request was that the minister advised an interviewing journalist on the 12th of January that it was nonsense to suggest that the information I sought under the act was not available. The refusal of my request in toto for the reasons provided must therefore be an error in application of the act, or the minister was either mistaken or misquoted to an unprecedented extent, or the minister was aware that the information requested was able to be refused under the act but he expected discretion on the part of the department to be exercise and the information be released. Whichever the circumstance, the minister has made not only a clear public statement that the information is available to the public, but emphatically suggested it absurd to assert a position to the contrary - a position the department appears to hold.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/t...
Yours faithfully,
Geordie Guy
Dear Mr Guy
Please find attached a letter acknowledging your application for internal
review.
Kind regards
Freedom of Information and Privacy Law Section
Corporate Law Branch
Brian left an annotation ()
Ben, I think this would be the article you were after: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/br...
Ben Fairless left an annotation ()
Geordie, do you have a link for the comments made? would be great to read the article fully!