Correspondence involving the Assistant Minister for the Republic
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
This is a Freedom of Information Request for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
I seek access to all Correspondence between the Assistant Minister for the Republic Matt Thistlethwaite and the following organisations from 1 June 2022 until today:
(a.) Australian Monarchist League;
(b.) Australian Republican Movement;
(c.) Australians for Constitutional Monarchy; and
(d.) Real Republic;
Yours faithfully,
Alex Pentland
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Dear Mr Pentland
Freedom of Information Request FOI23/321
I refer to your request to the Attorney-General's Department (the
department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access
to documents.
Please be advised that your request has been transferred to another agency
under s 16(1) of the FOI Act.
Transfer
Under s 16(1) of the FOI Act, the department, with the agreement of the
other agency, may transfer the request to the other agency if the
requested document is not in the possession of the department but is in
the possession of the other agency or if the subject matter of the
document is more closely connected with the functions of the other agency.
The department, with agreement, transferred your request as the subject
matter is more closely aligned with the functions of the Assistant
Minister for the Republic.
The department is assisting the Assistant Minister for the Republic
process your request. Your request was received on 26 June 2023 and the
30 day statutory period for processing your request commenced from the day
after that date. The transfer of your request does not affect the due date
for completion of your request. A decision for your request is due by 26
July 2023. However, the period of 30 days may be extended if the
department needs to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will
advise you if this happens.
Your request is for:
I seek access to all Correspondence between the Assistant Minister for the
Republic Matt Thistlethwaite and the following organisations from 1 June
2022 until today:
(a.) Australian Monarchist League;
(b.) Australian Republican Movement;
(c.) Australians for Constitutional Monarchy; and
(d.) Real Republic;
Your request in it’s current form is very broad. I am seeking your
assistance in refining the scope of your request by 30 June 2023 to
enable the Assistant Minister's Office to identify the documents of
particular interest to you.
Revising your request can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make
it more manageable or explaining in more detail the documents you wish to
access. For example, by providing more specific information about exactly
what documents you are interested in, the office may be able to identify
the documents more quickly and avoid using excessive resources to process
documents that are not of interest to you. You could also limit the scope
of your request to a limited timeframe of your request such as the last 3
months.
I provide the below example to assist you with revising the scope of your
request.
1. documents (emails, briefings, file notes) between the Assistant
Minister for the Republic, Matt Thistlewaite and the following
organisations from <insert date to insert date> concerning (insert
topic/subject matter – be as specific as possible):
(a.) Australian Monarchist League;
(b.) Australian Republican Movement;
(c.) Australians for Constitutional Monarchy; and
(d.) Real Republic
The department's practice is to not disclose personal information of staff
of the department and other government authorities, where that information
is not publicly known or routinely disclosed (e.g. names of junior
officers and contact information). The names of senior officers will
generally be disclosed. In addition, duplicates and incomplete email
chains within the scope of the FOI request will be excluded.
Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published online on the
department's disclosure log
[1]http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection....
If you have any questions, please contact me by telephone on (02) 6141
6666 or by email to [2][AGD request email].
Kellie
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | 8 Email: [AGD request email]
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information
where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our
functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and
telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy
complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal
information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to
verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or
via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the
email or attachments.
References
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1. http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...
2. mailto:[AGD request email]
Dear Mr Pentland
Freedom of Information Request FOI23/321 - Request consultation process
Attached is a notice of intention to practically refuse in respect of your
Freedom of Information request made to the Assistant Minister for the
Republic.
Before the department makes a decision, 24AB of the FOI Act provides for a
‘request consultation process'. This means you have 14 days in which to
respond to this notice revising your request in one of the ways described
in the attached letter.
We expect to hear from you by 1 August 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact me by telephone on (02) 6141
6666 or by email to [1][AGD request email].
Kind regards.
Kellie
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | 8 Email: [AGD request email]
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information
where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our
functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and
telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy
complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal
information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to
verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or
via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the
email or attachments.
References
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1. mailto:[AGD request email]
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of the Attorney-General's Department's handling of my FOI request 'Correspondence involving the Assistant Minister for the Republic'.
While I respect the work done by the FOI staff in this area, I struggle to agree with the decision made to refuse the request for practical purposes. While I see how many of the requests made may be too broad, this request in its current form seems rather narrow in terms of its area.
The period of time saught is only marginally over 1 year old, and while the matters of the Assistant Minister would likely involve frequent messages with these relevant organisations, the expressed view of the Government is that the Republic is not a priority for this term, with the Government prioritising the Indigenous Voice. Media reports regarding the Republic and the Minister commenting on the Republic have effectively dried up since last year, suggesting that correspondence made between these organisations and events that would generate substantial correspondence has heavily dried up.
Further, this request is not asking for drafting documents or other internal documents related to the writing of any letter or statement. This request only deals with the final documents exchanged, suggesting that there are relatively few areas that practically need to be reviewed and appropriately redacted/omitted, particularly given this request specifically enumerates only 4 organisations to seek for.
Finally, the prerogative of the Assistant Minister for the Republic effectively deals only with the issues of Constitutional Reform and proposals for a future potential Australian Republic. As such, it would be effectively futile for me to effectively; narrow this request by specifying a specific **area** or **topic** to review, given how narrow the parameter of the Minister currently is.
I employ you to review this area of inquiry and give this request the go-ahead.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/c...
Yours faithfully,
Alex Pentland
Good morning Mr Pentland
Thank you for your below email.
Please be advised the letter emailed to you dated 18 July 2023 in relation to FOI23/321 is not the final decision for your request, therefore, unfortunately, you are unable to request an internal review at this point in time.
The letter of 18 July 2023 is seeking to revise and negotiate the scope of your original request in an attempt to assist in identifying potential documents.
For example, you have requested 'all correspondence', when this could be narrowed to be more specific, i.e, signed letters. You could also potentially limit your request to fewer organisations.
I will take your below response as an opportunity to assist you with revising the scope of your request and provide the below as a possible option:
I am seeking signed letters by the Assistant Minister for the Republic Matt Thistlethwaite to the following organisations from 1 June 2022 until 31 December 2022:
(insert your preference - limit to 1 or 2 orgs)
relating to (insert specific topic/subject i.e. constitutional reform)
The above of course is only an option for your consideration and there is no obligation for you to adopt. You may wish to consider providing your own revised scope of request.
As outlined in the letter of 18 July 2023, you have an opportunity to provide a revised scope for consideration or alternatively withdraw your request by 1 August 2023.
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards.
Kellie
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
A Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | | Email: [AGD request email]
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Pentland
Freedom of Information Request AMRFOI23/321
I refer to your request to the Attorney-General's Department (the
department) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) for access
to documents which was subsequently transferred under s 16(1) of the FOI
Act to the Assistant Minister for the Republic.
The purpose of this email is to provide you with a decision in response to
that request.
Please find attached decision letter, including attachments A & B.
If you have any questions, please contact me by telephone on (02) 6141
6666 or by email to [1][AGD request email].
Kellie
Freedom of Information & Privacy
Attorney-General’s Department
( Phone: (02) 6141 6666 | 8 Email: [AGD request email]
OFFICIAL
The Attorney-General’s Department may collect your personal information
where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our
functions, including those under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) and the Privacy Act 1988. We may collect your name, email address and
telephone number so that we can contact you about your request or privacy
complaint. If your request concerns accessing or correcting your personal
information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to
verify your identity. We hold personal information in accordance with the
Privacy Act and our privacy policy. If you have an enquiry or complaint
about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Officer on 02 6141 6666 or
via e-mail [email address].
If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by
return email and delete all copies. If this email or any attachments have
been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute waiver of any
confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of information in the
email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[AGD request email]