Costs/Invoice for undertaking a Cost Benefit Analysis for the relocation of the APVMA
Dear Department of Agriculture and Water Resources,
The costs of preparing the Cost Benefit Analysis by an external consultant is part of the cost of proposing to moving the agency to a rural area. It is in the public interest to understand the true cost of this move. The invoice by Ernst and Young is sought and the budget for external consulting on this move is sought.
Yours faithfully,
Adam Presnell
Dear Mr Presnell
I acknowledge receipt of your below request. The reference for your request is FOI2016/17-58.
Regards
Melissa Nickols
FOI Officer
Office of the General Counsel | Freedom of Information and Privacy Section
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Phone +61 2 6272 3537
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Presnell [mailto:[FOI #3219 email]]
Sent: Friday, 10 March 2017 4:32 PM
To: Foi <[Department of Agriculture and Water Resources request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Costs/Invoice for undertaking a Cost Benefit Analysis for the relocation of the APVMA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Department of Agriculture and Water Resources,
The costs of preparing the Cost Benefit Analysis by an external consultant is part of the cost of proposing to moving the agency to a rural area. It is in the public interest to understand the true cost of this move. The invoice by Ernst and Young is sought and the budget for external consulting on this move is sought.
Yours faithfully,
Adam Presnell
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Good afternoon Mr Presnell,
Please find attached a charges notice in relation to your FOI request.
Regards,
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Government Lawyer | Freedom of Information and Privacy Team, Office of
the General Counsel
Email [1][email address]
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources [2]www.agriculture.gov.au
18 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia GPO Box 858 Canberra
ACT 2601 Australia
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
------ IMPORTANT - This email and any attachments have been issued by the
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. The
material transmitted is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential, legally privileged, copyright or personal
information. You should not copy, use or disclose it without authorisation
from the Department. It is your responsibility to check any attachments
for viruses and defects before opening or forwarding them. If you are not
an intended recipient, please contact the sender of this email at once by
return email and then delete both messages. Unintended recipients must not
copy, use, disclose, rely on or publish this email or attachments. The
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is not liable for any loss
or damage resulting from unauthorised use or dissemination of, or any
reliance on, this email or attachments. If you have received this e-mail
as part of a valid mailing list and no longer want to receive a message
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Dear Foi,
I wish to contest the fees proposed and yourt time estimates of over 9 hours. I am really only asking for 2 documents really:
1) The Tax Invoice/s
2) The Cost Benefit Analysis
Both of these can be provided electronically, so the time taken to locate and produce these documents is expected to be under 15 minutes.
The excess costs and time estimates are presumably being used to conceal this information.
The Act states:
(5) Without limiting the matters the agency or Minister may take into account in determining whether or not to reduce or not to impose the charge, the agency or Minister must take into account:
(a) whether the payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to the applicant, or to a person on whose behalf the application was made; and
(b) whether the giving of access to the document in question is in the general public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
In relation to (a), i have lost my business, house and career to professional negligence of the APVMA in relation to the illegal use of Unregistered Chemical Products and the illegal use of Registered chemical products. This financial burden is significant and this estimate would cause further hardship.
In relation to (b) it is in the public interest to know the true costs of the Minister moving the APVMA to his electorate out of Canberra. The costs of the Cost Benefit analysis should be taken into consideration of the the true cost and the true benefit of such costs.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Presnell
Dear Mr Presnell
Thank you for your email.
For hardship to be established, it is helpful for you to provide evidence to support your request. A link to Part 4 the Freedom of Information Guidelines as prepared by the Australian Information Commissioner contains more information, and it will also provide guidance on what is required for a public interest waiver:
https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
If you do not provide further information within one week of this email we will proceed to make a decision on the information you have already provided. Please note that there is 30 days from when you make a charges contention for the decision maker to make a decision on your application.
Melissa Nickols
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information and Privacy Team, Office of the General Counsel
Email [Department of Agriculture and Water Resources request email]
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources www.agriculture.gov.au
18 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this email.
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Presnell [mailto:[FOI #3219 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 30 March 2017 2:51 PM
To: Foi <[Department of Agriculture and Water Resources request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Costs/Invoice for undertaking a Cost Benefit Analysis for the relocation of the APVMA [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Dear Foi,
I wish to contest the fees proposed and yourt time estimates of over 9 hours. I am really only asking for 2 documents really:
1) The Tax Invoice/s
2) The Cost Benefit Analysis
Both of these can be provided electronically, so the time taken to locate and produce these documents is expected to be under 15 minutes.
The excess costs and time estimates are presumably being used to conceal this information.
The Act states:
(5) Without limiting the matters the agency or Minister may take into account in determining whether or not to reduce or not to impose the charge, the agency or Minister must take into account:
(a) whether the payment of the charge, or part of it, would cause financial hardship to the applicant, or to a person on whose behalf the application was made; and
(b) whether the giving of access to the document in question is in the general public interest or in the interest of a substantial section of the public.
In relation to (a), i have lost my business, house and career to professional negligence of the APVMA in relation to the illegal use of Unregistered Chemical Products and the illegal use of Registered chemical products. This financial burden is significant and this estimate would cause further hardship.
In relation to (b) it is in the public interest to know the true costs of the Minister moving the APVMA to his electorate out of Canberra. The costs of the Cost Benefit analysis should be taken into consideration of the the true cost and the true benefit of such costs.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Presnell
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon Mr Presnell,
Please find attached a charges notice in relation to your FOI request.
Regards,
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Government Lawyer | Freedom of Information and Privacy Team, Office of the General Counsel
Email [1][email address]
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources [2]www.agriculture.gov.au
18 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete this email.
------ IMPORTANT - This email and any attachments have been issued by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. The material transmitted is for the use of the intended recipient only and may contain confidential, legally privileged, copyright or personal information. You should not copy, use or disclose it without authorisation from the Department. It is your responsibility to check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening or forwarding them. If you are not an intended recipient, please contact the sender of this email at once by return email and then delete both messages. Unintended recipients must not copy, use, disclose, rely on or publish this email or attachments. The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is not liable for any loss or damage resulting from unauthorised use or dissemination of, or any reliance on, this email or attachments. If you have received this e-mail as part of a valid mailing list and no longer want to receive a message such as this one, advise the sender by return e-mail accordingly. This notice should not be deleted or altered ------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.agriculture.gov.au/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #3219 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
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 Foi,
Since 2011, the APVMA has been aware that i have lost all my work as a result of blowing the whisle on the SCRC's illegal and widespread use of an unregistered chemical product that is not covered by any of your permits.
The matter as been through the Federal Senate at least 5 times and the APVMA is involved in a conspiracy to protect itself and other government agencies and has lied, cheated and mislead in every part of the process.
It is not in dispute that the APVMA has caused significant financial harm and that this cost imposition on a whisteblower is an abuse of process. I lost all my work as a result of speaking out against the illega use of chemicals and the APVMA's ensuing coverup.
I remind you of your duties under Part 4 — Charges for providing access:
-A charge must not be used to unnecessarily delay access or discourage an applicant from exercising the right of access conferred by the FOI Act.
-Charges should fairly reflect the work involved in providing access to documents on request.
-Charges are discretionary and should be justified on a case by case basis.
-Agencies should encourage administrative access at no charge, where appropriate.
The imposition of a cost burden is going to cause information to be withhled from the public record as many FOI's are current and each one is being charged out excessively in an attempt to hide your coverup as best as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Presnell
Dear Mr Presnell,
Please find attached a decision on your charges contention.
Regards,
Marianne Nolte-Crimp
Government Lawyer | Freedom of Information and Privacy Team, Office of
the General Counsel
Email [1][email address]
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources [2]www.agriculture.gov.au
18 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia GPO Box 858 Canberra
ACT 2601 Australia
This email and any attachments may contain information subject to legal
professional privilege or information that is otherwise sensitive or
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are
prohibited from using or disseminating this communication. If you have
received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately
and permanently delete this email.
------ IMPORTANT - This email and any attachments have been issued by the
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. The
material transmitted is for the use of the intended recipient only and may
contain confidential, legally privileged, copyright or personal
information. You should not copy, use or disclose it without authorisation
from the Department. It is your responsibility to check any attachments
for viruses and defects before opening or forwarding them. If you are not
an intended recipient, please contact the sender of this email at once by
return email and then delete both messages. Unintended recipients must not
copy, use, disclose, rely on or publish this email or attachments. The
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is not liable for any loss
or damage resulting from unauthorised use or dissemination of, or any
reliance on, this email or attachments. If you have received this e-mail
as part of a valid mailing list and no longer want to receive a message
such as this one, advise the sender by return e-mail accordingly. This
notice should not be deleted or altered ------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.agriculture.gov.au/