Access to Speaker's Brief

Daniel Hinds made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the House of Representatives

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by Department of the House of Representatives.

Dear Department of the House of Representatives,

I am writing today as a member of the general public who wishes to obtain a copy of the Speaker's Brief for the 44th Parliament.

I note that while the Department of the House of Representatives is not subject to Freedom of information as a result of legislative changes I consider it is in the public interest that the brief be released.

I note that the Speaker's brief has been released previously under FOI as it is noted in your disclosure log http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/P...

I therefore kindly request that access to the brief be considered.I look forward to hearing from you in that regard.

Yours faithfully,

Daniel Hinds

FOI (Reps), Department of the House of Representatives

Dear Mr Hinds,
Thank you for your email and I apologise for the delay in responding to you. Your request will be considered and I will advise you of the outcome of that consideration.

Yours sincerely

James Catchpole
Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms
Department of the House of Representatives
Parliament House
PO Box 6021, Canberra, ACT, 2600
ph: 02 6277 4888 mob: 0407 994021
www.aph.gov.au/house

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Hinds [mailto:[FOI #487 email]]
Sent: Monday, 16 December 2013 12:53 AM
To: FOI (Reps)
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Access to Speaker's Brief

Dear Department of the House of Representatives,

I am writing today as a member of the general public who wishes to obtain a copy of the Speaker's Brief for the 44th Parliament.

I note that while the Department of the House of Representatives is not subject to Freedom of information as a result of legislative changes I consider it is in the public interest that the brief be released.

I note that the Speaker's brief has been released previously under FOI as it is noted in your disclosure log http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/P...

I therefore kindly request that access to the brief be considered.I look forward to hearing from you in that regard.

Yours faithfully,

Daniel Hinds

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[FOI #487 email]

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McClelland, Robyn (REPS), Department of the House of Representatives

Dear Mr Hinds

I refer to your request below for a copy of the Speaker's Brief for the 44th Parliament.

After consideration, the Department of the House of Representatives has decided not to make the Speaker's Brief for the 44th Parliament public.

As you note, the department, along with the other parliamentary departments, is now excluded from the application of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. However, detailed and up to date information about the department's operations is available in the department's 2012-13 Annual Report, 2013-2016 Corporate Plan and 2013-2014 Portfolio Budget Statements. All these documents are available publicly via the parliament house website at: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/P...

If you have any questions about this advice, please contact the Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms, James Catchpole, on (02) 6277 4888.

Yours sincerely

Robyn McClelland
Serjeant-at-Arms

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Hinds [mailto:[FOI #487 email]]
Sent: Monday, 16 December 2013 12:53 AM
To: FOI (Reps)
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Access to Speaker's Brief

Dear Department of the House of Representatives,

I am writing today as a member of the general public who wishes to obtain a copy of the Speaker's Brief for the 44th Parliament.

I note that while the Department of the House of Representatives is not subject to Freedom of information as a result of legislative changes I consider it is in the public interest that the brief be released.

I note that the Speaker's brief has been released previously under FOI as it is noted in your disclosure log http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/P...

I therefore kindly request that access to the brief be considered.I look forward to hearing from you in that regard.

Yours faithfully,

Daniel Hinds

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #487 email]

Is [Department of the House of Representatives request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Department of the House of Representatives? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/cont...

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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Henare Degan left an annotation ()

It would be interesting to ask them why they are refusing access.

Hopefully they'll be just ask helpful and upfront about this as the Department is in responding to FOI requests.