Documents relating to data retention proposals
Brendan Molloy made this Freedom of Information request to Attorney-General's Department
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Attorney-General's Department,
I hereby request, under the Freedom of Information Act (1982), copies of the following documents, available as of the date of this letter:
(a) Documents pertaining to all consultations held between the AGD and Telstra, Optus, iiNet, Internode, Nextgen, Comms Alliance and other members or representatives of the telecommunications industry during 2010;
(b) Final reports or determinations of these consultations; and
(c) Documents pertaining to any meetings between the AGD and the telecommunications industry pertaining to any data retention proposals from 2009 to the date of this request.
The consultations of 2010 are discussed in an article on zdnet.com, entitled "Inside Australia's data retention proposal", published June 16, 2010 (http://www.zdnet.com/inside-australias-d...).
"A consultation in March this year, just three months ago, was held with industry to discuss the data retention proposal. It's understood that this was the first formal consultation with the telecommunications industry, with a number of telcos in attendance.
Representatives from telecommunications companies Telstra, Optus, iiNet, Internode, Nextgen and the Comms Alliance were in attendance, among others, according to an industry source."
I also make the application that all costs for the processing of this request be waived on the grounds that the release of this information is in the public interest, will enhance the transparency of the process and the public debate surrounding potential legislative changes.
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Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
UNCLASSIFIED
Good Afternoon Mr Molloy
I hereby acknowledge your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) dated 24 October 2012.
Your request will be processed as quickly as possible.
Kind Regards
Margarita Constant
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
A: +61 (2) 6141 3291 +: [email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
I refer to your FOI request regarding data retention and to your revised
scope of 30 October 2012. I have now received documents within the scope
of the revised request and it is apparent that it will be necessary to
consult, pursuant to section 27 of the FOI Act, with certain industry
bodies regarding some of the material.
Accordingly, under section 15(6) of the FOI Act, time to complete
processing of your request is extended by 30 days to Monday 31 December
2012.
I will advise you of further developments as they occur.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
To whom it may concern,
The extension period for this Freedom of Information Request[1] has now expired. I understand based upon a response I received from the officer regarding another Freedom of Information Request[2] that he may be on leave until January 16, 2012.
Hopefully this situation can be solved promptly and amicably.
[1] http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/do...
[2] http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/in...
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Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
The Attorney-General’s Department is closed from the 25 December 2012
until 1 January 2013. Your email has been received and we will respond on
our return.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kind Regards
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section.
UNCLASSIFIED
Good morning Mr Molloy
Referring to your email of 1 January 2013, this information will be passed on to the responsible office on their return in mid-January 2013.
Thank you for your patience.
With regards,
AGD FOI
To whom it may concern,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Attorney-General's Department's handling of my FOI request 'Documents relating to data retention proposals'.
The extension period expired on 31 December, 2012 and I am entirely dissatisfied with the boilerplate response sent from the AGD regarding this deadline being missed, as the officer apparently in charge of this request is on leave until 16 January, 2013.
I find the missing of this deadline entirely unacceptable and unwarranted, and would like my request which is now up to its 69th day to be completed as soon as possible.
A partial history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/do...
For emails that were sent to my private address by the officer that you may need access to, I can send by request.
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Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Molloy
I hereby acknowledge your request for Internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) dated 2 January 2013.
The review will be conducted as quickly as possible.
With regards,
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section Attorney-General's Department
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear OAIC
Attorney-General’s Department reference number — 12/16558
I am writing to request a s 15AC extension for an FOI request made by
applicant Mr Brendan Molloy contactable at
<[1][FOI #7 email]>.
Details of the access request
Mr Molloy lodged his FOI access request with the Attorney-General’s
Department (AGD) on 24 October 2012 with final clarification of scope
provided on 30 October 2012. Taking into account an extension to the
processing period to allow us to consult third parties under s 27, AGD was
due to make a decision on the applicant's request by 31 December 2012.
The decision on the request is now deemed refused.
Period of s 15AC extension sought
AGD requests a 37 day extension under s 15AC with a proposed decision due
date of 6 February 2013.
Reasons
o Reasons for requesting an extension and AGD’s view as to why an
extension would be justified:
o As the OAIC is aware, agencies lose valuable FOI process time
between Christmas and the New Year when most Australian
Government agencies shut down operations. A proportion of the s
15AC request now being sought was (if granted) lost during this
period.
o The material in questions concerns 10+ external third parties.
Section 27 consultations under the Act – involving this many
interested parties – are inherently complex and time consuming
affairs.
· Work already undertaken to process the request:
o The majority of comments are in from external parties with the
exception of two nil responses which AGD is pursuing. The FOI
decision maker is at the point of reviewing these comments and will
shortly consult relevant line areas within AGD to determine their
objections, if any.
· Breakdown of how AGD would use the extended period for
processing the request:
o 16/1 to 25/1 – apply third party objections / comments to the
material, discuss those comments with relevant line areas within
AGD, chase up missing third party comments and draft FOI decision
letter.
o 28/1 to 6/2 – undertake internal administrative procedures before
providing AGD’s FOI decision to the applicant.
o AGD will be sure to keep the applicant informed of progress
throughout this period.
Yours sincerely,
Logan Tudor| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton, ACT, 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 3715 | E: [2][email address]
On behalf of
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton, ACT, 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 | E: [3][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #7 email]
2. file:///tmp/[email address]
3. file:///tmp/[email address]
Our reference: RQ13/00071
AGD reference: 12/16558
Mr Brendan Molloy
By email: [1][FOI #7 email]
Dear Mr Molloy
Extension of time request under s15AC
On 14 January 2013 the Attorney-General's Department requested further
time to make a decision on your FOI request of 24 October 2012.
Section 15AC of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (the Act) allows
the Information Commissioner to extend the processing time for an FOI
request where the initial decision period has ended and the agency or
Minister has not provided the applicant with notice of a decision. The
Attorney-General's Department has advised this Office they have not made a
decision in the statutory time period. The Act deems that your request has
been refused (deemed refusal).
We have considered the Attorney-General's Department’s application, and
have decided to grant an extension of time of 37 days to 6 February 2013
to process your request.
We note that this extension under s15AC will mean that the deemed refusal
is taken never to have applied if Attorney-General's Department makes a
decision on your request by 6 February 2013.
Such an extension can only be granted once and cannot be extended by a
variation. An Information Commissioner extension under s15AC of the Act
does not enable Attorney-General's Department to reimpose a charge.
Review rights
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request, you may
complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. This service is free, and you can
contact the office on 1300 362 072 or visit [2]www.ombudsman.gov.au.
If you would like to discuss this matter you may contact me on (02) 6239
9121 or email [3][email address]. Please quote the
reference number RQ13/00071.
Yours sincerely
Elizabeth Zatschler | Assistant Merit Review and Investigations Officer
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
4 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600
GPO Box 2999 CANBERRA ACT 2601 |www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: +61 2 6239 9121
Fax: +61 2 6239 9187
Email: [4][email address]
Protecting information rights – advancing information policy
P Please consider the environment before printing this email
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #7 email]
2. http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
We refer to your email dated 2 January 2013 in which you requested an
Internal Review on the ground of a deemed refusal to grant access to the
documents. The Freedom of Information Act does not permit an internal
review in such circumstances and, for that reason, we are unable to action
your request. In this respect, if you have not already been notified by
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), we advise
that the OAIC has granted an extension to complete processing of this
matter by 6 February 2013.
Regarding progress, I advise that I have conducted eleven industry
consultations, a matter somewhat complicated by non-responsiveness by
certain organisations and, in one instance, a response being made, but
incorrectly addressed. In that respect, I have advised the last
non-responder that, absent reply by 21 January 2013, I will proceed on the
assumption they have no comment to make. In the meantime, I have collated
the other responses, which will be referred to the relevant section of the
Department early next week.
I will advise you of further developments as they occur.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Mr Plowman,
It seems that the OAIC granted extension has now expired.
Please update me on the status of this freedom of information request.
--
Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
Thank you for your email. The matter is in its final internal consultation
and administrative stages. I expect to be in a position to release
documents to you mid next week.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [1][email address]
Dear Mr Plowman,
I note that is now mid-week.
I look forward to receiving the requested documents today.
--
Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
I refer to your freedom of information request to the Attorney-General's
Department concerning data retention.
Please find attached my decision letter dated 13 February 2013 and, due to
rejection of all of the documents by your server, parts 1 and 2 (of 4) of
documents released in answer to your request. Parts 3 and 4 of released
documents will follow immediately.
If you are minded to make any future FOI requests, we would be grateful
if, in each request, you specified your server’s email attachment size
limits.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
Please find attached parts 3 and 4 of documents released in answer to your
request.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [1][email address]
From: Plowman, Stuart
Sent: Wednesday, 13 February 2013 3:21 PM
To: [FOI #7 email]
Subject: Your freedom of information request to the Attorney-General's
Department - Data Retention [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
I refer to your freedom of information request to the Attorney-General's
Department concerning data retention.
Please find attached my decision letter dated 13 February 2013 and, due to
rejection of all of the documents by your server, parts 1 and 2 (of 4) of
documents released in answer to your request. Parts 3 and 4 of released
documents will follow immediately.
If you are minded to make any future FOI requests, we would be grateful
if, in each request, you specified your server’s email attachment size
limits.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman| Legal Officer
Freedom of Information & Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel
Attorney-General's Department |3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
T: +61 (2) 6141 4105 E: [2][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
Renai LeMay left an annotation ()
You truly have the patience of a saint, Brendan.
*sigh*
Can't believe this whole thing is so hard.
Dear Mr Plowman,
Thank you for fulfilling this request. I will review the documents as soon as possible.
I will also inform the administrators that the attachment limit is too low and see if it can't be raised to around 20MB.
--
Regards,
Brendan Molloy
Secretary
Pirate Party Australia
Henare Degan left an annotation ()
The documents released in this request have been written about in this Crikey story: "‘Banality of evil’: new documents lift the veil on data retention"
http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/02/14/bana...
Henare Degan left an annotation ()
More write ups:
"'The elephant in the room': Data retention's controversial origins" http://www.zdnet.com/au/the-elephant-in-...
"#natsecinquiry FOI reveals more of the same: It’s still terrible" https://21stcenturysamizdat.wordpress.co...
Brendan Molloy left an annotation ()
At one point, I started receiving emails to my private address. I'll paste the relevant ones here, which was the redefined scope:
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Dear Mr Molloy
Thank you for your email.
On reflection, the phrases ‘documents pertaining to all consultations’ (Part A) and ‘emails… pertaining to any meetings’ (Part C) encompass all such documents including, say, procedural or peripheral documents such as emails which organise a meeting venue, identify and notify meeting attendees and possible travel and accommodation arrangements for them – documents in which you may have no interest. If your concern is to access only those documents which record proposals and final decisions and determinations, may I suggest perhaps a further scope revision as follows:
(a) All documents submitted during 2010, for the purpose of consultation in relation to any data retention proposals, by the Attorney-General’s Department to Telstra, Optus, iiNet, Internode, Nextgen, Comms Alliance and any other members or representatives of the telecommunications industry;
(b) All consultation responses received by the Department from those members or representatives of the telecommunications industry;
(c) Final reports, or determinations in final form recorded by email or otherwise, made by the Department as a result of these consultations;
(d) The meeting Agenda and Minutes of any meetings between the AGD and the telecommunications industry pertaining to any data retention proposals from 2009 to the date of this request; and
(e) Final reports, or determinations in final form recorded by email or otherwise, made by the Department as a result of these meetings.
Please advise if this proposed scope accurately describes the documents you seek.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman | Legal Officer
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My response:
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Dear Mr Plowman,
I accept the amendments to the request as worded.
I would also like to request that, if possible, further correspondence
regarding this freedom of information request be sent to the original
email address as specified by the Right To Know system, and not my
personal address.
If there are any issues with using this address, or you are unsure of
what address I am even referring to, please let me know.
Thanks.
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His follow up:
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UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Molloy
Thank you for your scope revision. I will now seek the documents from the appropriate section of the Department.
I had not noticed the different email contact for this request and will direct all further correspondence to the Right To Know address specified.
Sincerely
Stuart Plowman | Legal Officer
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