FOIREQ21/00067
Pages 1 to 66 refused in ful – s 47E(d) (certain operations of agencies)
Pages 67 to 184 refused in ful – s 42 (legal professional privilege)
Pages 185 to 186 refused in ful – s 47E(d) (certain operations of agencies)
Pages 187 to 191 refused in ful – s 42 (legal professional privilege)
Page 192 refused in ful – s 47E(d) (certain operations of agencies)
Pages 194 to 213 refused in ful – s 42 (legal professional privilege)
FOIREQ21/00067 214
Subject:
8AM Parliament House/ Call
on her mobile
[SEC=OFFICIAL]
Start:
Wed 28/04/2021 8:00 AM
End:
Wed 28/04/2021 9:00 AM
Recurrence:
(none)
Meeting Status:
Accepted
Organizer:
Required Attendees:
1
FOIREQ21/00067 215
From:
Elizabeth Hampton
To:
Subject:
Fwd: Request for a meeting [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Date:
Wednesday, 21 April 2021 1:51:04 PM
Attachments:
image001.png
image002.jpg
Hi - will you pls put this in my calendar? I’ll get back to you with plans for Tuesday - ta
Get Outlook for iOS
From:
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2021 12:49:03 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Request for a meeting [SEC=OFFICIAL]
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
Thank you
8am is perfect.
Our suite number at Parliament House is
If you need to be signed into Parliament House you will need to enter either via Point One Basement
Entrance or via the Senate Entrance …. The main front doors of Parliament House do not open to the
public until 9am.
Please call
on the suite phone number
and he can meet you at either
entrance and sign you in if needed. He will then need to escort you whilst in the building for security
purposes.
will also be attending the meeting.
Regards
Executive Assistant/Diary Manager
Office of Rex Patrick | Senator for South Australia
www.rexpatrick.com.au
From:
Sent: Wednesday, 21 April 2021 12:12 PM
To:
FOIREQ21/00067
Pages 218 to 222 refused in ful – s 47E(d) (certain operations of agencies
Pages 223 to 232 refused in ful – s 42 (legal professional privilege)
FOIREQ21/00067 233
From:
Angelene Falk
To:
Cc:
Media OAIC;
Subject:
RE: Mandarin story on Senator Patrick FOI - Attention last paragraph [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Date:
Monday, 26 April 2021 6:13:00 PM
Attachments:
image001.jpg
Noted thanks. The discussions are not with me, but are with my office.
From:
Sent: Monday, 26 April 2021 5:56 PM
To: Angelene Falk
Cc: Media OAIC <xxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx>;
Subject: Mandarin story on Senator Patrick FOI - Attention last paragraph [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Good evening
The last paragraph says discussions are taking place.
HOME JURISDICTION FEDERAL
Rex Patrick threatens to take information commissioner to court over FOI
speed
FOI
Independent senator Rex Patrick has threatened to take information commissioner
Angelene Falk to court over “signifcant delays” in Freedom of Information (FOI) reviews.
Over the weekend Patrick said he hoped Federal Court action would force the Ofce of the
Ausralian Information Commissioner to deal with what he has described as a “train
FOIREQ21/00067 234
smash” within the Ausralian FOI review regime.
“I have a number of FOI matters before the information commissioner due to bad decision
making at the departmental Level. Four of them have been with the information
commissioner for more than a year and another three for more than two years,” he said in a
satement.
“To expedite my matters, which are all related to my role as a senator, I have written to the
information commissioner foreshadowing the initiation of Federal Court Proceedings. It is
my hope that whatever remedy I am able to achieve will beneft all who utilise the services
of the information commissioner.”
The senator — who las year launched proceedings in the Adminisrative Appeals Tribunal
after his FOI requess relating to national cabinet meetings were denied — noted that at
leas 300 applicants have waited more than a year for decisions to be made in relation to
FOI reviews. As at las October, 55 journalis FOIs had been outsanding for more than one
year, and 31 more than two years.
An OAIC spokesperson told
The Mandarin that while the agency has “signifcantly
increased” the number of information commissioner reviews it fnalises each year, to more
than 80%, improvements to review processes “are not able to keep pace with the
continuing rise in the number of applications”.
The number of review applications lodged each year increased by almos 109% between
2015-16 and 2019-20. Meanwhile, the number fnalised each year only increased by 83%.
“Las year, we fnalised 72% of IC reviews (829) within 12 months,” the spokesperson
said.
“In the frs 8 months of 2020-21 (to 1 March 2021) we received 803 IC review
applications, a 25% increase on the same period in 2019-20. During this period, the
average time to complete an IC review was 8.2 months.”
Citizens can ask the information commissioner to review decisions that have been made in
regard to FOI requests. While the FOI Act does require the commissioner to make
decisions as a result of those reviews, it does not mandate a time frame for those decisions,
FOIREQ21/00067 235
Patrick noted.
The agency spokesperson told
The Mandarin that the portfolio budget satement for the
OAIC sets a target of 80% of information commissioner reviews to be fnalised within 12
months.
Patrick has argued that by the time Falk grants people access to information, the
opportunity to engage in policy discussion and debate has passed.
“The late release of information does not allow people to participate in democracy, it only
provides a means to write the hisory. That’s not how it’s supposed to be,” he said.
He noted that individuals can go through the Federal Court where decisions have been
delayed for an unreasonable amount of time.
The OAIC spokesperson said the agency seeks to resolve all review applications “as
efciently and efectively as possible”. However, the review process is often “complex”,
due to many documents subject to review being sensitive, and many matters involving
consideration of multiple exemptions and large volumes of material, they said.
“There are often afected third parties whose interess and rights need to be considered,”
they added.
Patrick has accused the government of “encouraging opaqueness and obfuscation” and
under-funding the OAIC.
“Ofcials who have sensed the government’s goal are making reckless FOI decisions that
deny access to information, often across the board. They are setting aside their fduciary
duty to the public in preference to pleasing their miniser,” the senator said.
“Whils court proceedings will force resolution of my own matters, the government has to
address the signifcant under resourcing of the Ofce of the Ausralian Information
Commissioner, otherwise others may also have to adopt this approach.”
Patrick is currently in discussions with Falk.
