Emails to DFAT CNB re Australians killed in Yemen by US drones

Culley Palmer 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.

This request has been withdrawn by the person who made it. There may be an explanation in the correspondence below.

Culley Palmer

Dear Attorney-General's Department,

I hereby request access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982,
to:

Emails between AGD and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 'Consular Operations Branch' (CNB) discussing or mentioning the killing of any Australian citizen by a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) in Yemen.

I wish to exclude duplicate emails, and the personal information of Government employees, from the scope of my request.

Please do not hesitate to contact me by reply email if I may be of any further assistance.

Regards,

Culley Palmer

FOI Requests, Attorney-General's Department

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Palmer

Freedom of Information Request FOI 15/031

I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) for access to the following:

Emails between AGD and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's
'Consular Operations Branch' (CNB) discussing or mentioning the killing of
any Australian citizen by a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) in Yemen.

 

I wish to exclude duplicate emails, and the personal information of
Government employees, from the scope of my request.

 

If you disagree with this interpretation of your request, please let me
know as soon as possible.

We received your request on 3 March 2015 and the 30 day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 2 April 2015. The period of
30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

It is the usual practice of the department to not disclose the names and
contact details of junior officers of the department and other government
agencies, where that personal information is contained in documents within
the scope of a request.  The names and contact details of senior officers
will generally be disclosed.  I note that you have advised that you do not
wish to receive the personal information of Government employees and we
will therefore remove junior officers’ personal information from any
documents identified as being within the scope of your request.

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[1]http://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtection...,
subject to certain exceptions. (For example, personal information will not
be published where this would be unreasonable.)

We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if
you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

If you have any questions, please contact Jo Burley by telephone on
(02) 6141 6666 or by email [2][AGD request email].

Regards

Jo

 

FOI Contact Officer

Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel

Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [3][AGD request email]

 

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Privacy Collection Notice

When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].

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References

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3. mailto:[AGD request email]

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FOI Requests, Attorney-General's Department

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Mr Palmer

Freedom of Information Request no. FOI15/031

 

I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) for access to the following:

Emails between AGD and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's
'Consular Operations Branch' (CNB) discussing or mentioning the killing of
any Australian citizen by a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) in Yemen.

 

I wish to exclude duplicate emails, and the personal information of
Government employees, from the scope of my request.

 

As your request covers documents which contain another individual’s
personal information, the Department is required to consult with that
individual (under section 27A of the FOI Act) before making a decision on
the release of those documents. The individual is not a Government
employee.

For this reason the period for processing your request has been extended
by 30 days in order to allow our agency time to consult with that
individual (section 15(6) of the FOI Act).  The processing period for your
request will now end on 2 May 2015.

The consultation mechanism under section 27A applies when we believe the
individual (or their representative) may wish to contend that the
requested documents are exempt for reasons of personal privacy.  We will
take into account any comments we receive from the individual but the
final decision about whether to grant you access to the documents you
requested rests with this Department.

Regards

Jo

 

FOI Contact Officer

Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel

Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [1][AGD request email]

 

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If you have received this transmission in error please
notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete all
copies. If this e-mail 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 e-mail or attachments.

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

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

Privacy Collection Notice

When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].

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References

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1. mailto:[AGD request email]

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FOI Requests, Attorney-General's Department

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Mr Palmer

 

Please find attached a notice of estimated charges in relation to your FOI
request (FOI15/031).

 

Regards

Jo

 

FOI Contact Officer

Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel

Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [1][AGD request email]

 

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If you have received this transmission in error please
notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete all
copies. If this e-mail 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 e-mail or attachments.

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

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

Privacy Collection Notice

When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters,
the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal
information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to,
our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act
1988. We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that
we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act
for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal
information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to,
or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act. If your
request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum
amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your
personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy
policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the
Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].

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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[AGD request email]

hide quoted sections

FOI Requests, Attorney-General's Department

UNCLASSIFIED
Good afternoon Mr Palmer,

I refer to your below FOI request (FOI15/031).

On 8 April 2015, the Department notified you of the estimated charges for your request. A response agreeing to pay the charge, contending the charge or withdrawing the request was due by 9 May 2015.

As you did not provide a response, your request is taken to have been withdrawn.

Regards
Jo

FOI Contact Officer
Freedom of Information and Privacy Section | Office of Corporate Counsel Attorney-General's Department | 3 - 5 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
*: [AGD request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: Culley Palmer [mailto:[FOI #994 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 3 March 2015 2:43 PM
To: FOI Requests
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Emails to DFAT CNB re Australians killed in Yemen by US drones

Dear Attorney-General's Department,

I hereby request access, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982,
to:

Emails between AGD and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 'Consular Operations Branch' (CNB) discussing or mentioning the killing of any Australian citizen by a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) in Yemen.

I wish to exclude duplicate emails, and the personal information of Government employees, from the scope of my request.

Please do not hesitate to contact me by reply email if I may be of any further assistance.

Regards,

Culley Palmer

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----------------------------------------------------
If you have received this transmission in error please
notify us immediately by return e-mail and delete all
copies. If this e-mail 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 e-mail or attachments.

When you make a request for documents or an inquiry about privacy matters, the Attorney-General’s Department will only collect your personal information where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, our functions under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 or the Privacy Act 1988.
We may collect your name, email address and telephone number so that we can contact you about your request under the Freedom of Information Act for access to documents or access to, or correction of, personal information; or a complaint you have made or your request for access to, or correction of, personal information under the Privacy Act.
If your request concerns your personal information, we will collect the minimum amount of evidence necessary to verify your identity. The handling of your personal information is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 and our privacy policy is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/Pages/Privacystatem....
If you have an enquiry or complaint about your privacy, please contact the Privacy Contact Officer on 02 6141 2660 or via e-mail [email address].

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