Recent appointments to the Nomination Panel for ABC and SBS Appointments

Henare Degan made this Freedom of Information request to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

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 Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

This is an application for all documents, reports and emails etc. since January 1, 2014 regarding the two recent appointments to the Nomination Panel for ABC and SBS Appointments of Dr Janet Albrechtsen and the Hon Neil Brown QC.

Please treat this as a request for administrative access. If for some reason the request cannot be dealt with in this way, please treat it as a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours faithfully,

Henare Degan

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

UNCLASSIFIED
Our reference: FOI/2014/125
 
 
Dear Henare Degan
 
Thank you for your email below dated 12 July 2014, received by the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department), in which
you made a request to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (the FOI Act).
 
Timeframe for receiving your decision
 
We received your request on 12 July 2014 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 Monday, 11 August 2014.  The
period of 30 days may be extended in certain circumstances.  We will
advise you if there is any extension of time.
 
Charges
 
Agencies may decide that an applicant is liable to pay a charge in respect
of a request for access to documents. If the Department decides that you
are liable to pay a charge, we will send you a preliminary assessment of
the charge as soon as possible.
 
Publication of documents
 
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log at
[1]http://www.dpmc.gov.au/foi/ips/disclosur..., subject to
certain exceptions. If you think you might wish to raise any objections to
the publication of any of the information which may be released to you
please contact us by email at [2][DPMC request email].  If you do wish to object
to the publication of information, you would need to provide supporting
reasons.
 
Exclusion of officers’ names and contact details
 
It is the Department’s policy to withhold the names and contact details of
officers not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) as well as the mobile
or direct numbers of SES officers within the Department and other agencies
contained within documents that fall within scope of the request. The
names and other details of departmental or agency SES officers will not be
withheld unless there is some reason for that information to be exempt
from release. If you require the names and contact details of non-SES
officers or the mobile or direct numbers of SES officers please let us
know at [3][DPMC request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise we
will take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the
scope of your request.
 
We will write again when the Department has more information.  Further
information on FOI processing can be found at the website of the Office of
the Australian Information Commissioner at
[4]http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_....
 
Yours sincerely
 
FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
p. 02 6271 5849
e. [5][DPMC request email]
[6]www.pmc.gov.au
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Henare Degan [[7]mailto:[FOI #677 email]]
Sent: Saturday, 12 July 2014 7:13 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Recent appointments to the
Nomination Panel for ABC and SBS Appointments
 
Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
 
This is an application for all documents, reports and emails etc. since
January 1, 2014 regarding the two recent appointments to the Nomination
Panel for ABC and SBS Appointments of Dr Janet Albrechtsen and the Hon
Neil Brown QC.
 
Please treat this as a request for administrative access. If for some
reason the request cannot be dealt with in this way, please treat it as a
formal application under the Freedom of Information Act.
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Henare Degan
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #677 email]
 
Is [9][DPMC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
 
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.
[11]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
 
This request is being made by an individual using the Right to Know
website. The unique email address provided by the service for this request
satisfies s.15(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act.
 
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[12]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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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon,

 

Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request with
the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
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you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
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you
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Dear Mr Williams,

Thank you for the opportunity to revise my request.

I wish to limit my request to briefings & ministerials available in the DPMC Slipstream database. I also wish to exclude documents after the appointments were announced.

I hope these limitations allow my request to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Henare Degan

Thank you for your email message of 4 August 2014.

This is to advise that the decision maker in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is of the view that the scope of the revised request has been narrowed sufficiently to remove the practical refusal reasons and to allow processing of the revised request to continue.

The decision due date for notifying a decision is therefore, Sunday, 24 August 2014 (or next business day, Monday, 25 August 2014).

Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet e. [email address]


-----Original Message-----
From: Henare Degan [mailto:[FOI #677 email]]
Sent: Monday, 4 August 2014 4:00 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Re: FOI/2014/125 - Practical refusal consultation notice [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear Mr Williams,

Thank you for the opportunity to revise my request.

I wish to limit my request to briefings & ministerials available in the DPMC Slipstream database. I also wish to exclude documents after the appointments were announced.

I hope these limitations allow my request to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

-----Original Message-----

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon,

 

Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

 

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #677 email]

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...

This request is being made by an individual using the Right to Know website. The unique email address provided by the service for this request satisfies s.15(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act.

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.

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

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
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must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

UNCLASSIFIED

Good morning,

 

Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request with
the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

 

[2]Description: cid:image001.png@01CFAD9F.9716E8A0

 

 

 

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you
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you
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Dear FOI Adviser,

I wish to request that all costs for the processing of this request be waived or reduced on the grounds that the release of this information is in the public interest.

These organisations are publicly funded by taxpayers and board appointments impact the health of the organisations in many ways. As such, the public interest argument is strongly in favour of disclosure of this information as there is limited information currently available about these appointments. Given the highly politicised nature of appointments at this time, transparency of this process is essential for informed public discussion.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Henare Degan,

Please see attached the charges decision in relation to your FOI request
with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference
FOI/2014/125.
 
Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
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you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
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Peter Timmins left an annotation ()

Henare, This issue got quite a workout in Senate Estimates for PM&C on Monday with questions raised by Senator Wong about various appointments. See http://bit.ly/1ta4TYa
PM&C weren't conceding much but contact with the PM"s Office was in accordance with 'routine', plenty of names were considered, and the appointments were all the Secretary's own doing despite some bemusement on the part of opposition senators about where the names of the two successful nominations came from.

She also raised in a few moments at the end of the session PM&C's handling of her FOI applications-you aren't alone in getting a runaround.

Cheers. Peter Timmins.

Dear FOI,

I've just provided my payment details via phone to pay the deposit for this request.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

Dear FOI,

I've just been called back to say that I need to provide my credit card details via unencrypted email or my request cannot be processed. I've also been told this is your standard practice.

As I explained on my call this is very concerning. A handy website by the Australian Government called "SCAMwatch" explains on its "Credit card scams" page:

>"Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email."

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/inde...

I hope my request can proceed without needing to ignore this advice from the Government's own SCAMwatch website.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Degan

I refer to your email below.

Thank you for providing your payment details. We will provide you with a receipt for the payment of the processing charge for your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as soon as this is available.

As indicated in our letter of 20 August 2014 notifying of the estimate of the processing charge, we are writing to confirm that the Department has identified third party information relevant to your request. The Department has formed the view that it is appropriate to consult in the circumstances.

Under s 15(6) of the FOI Act, the statutory period for processing an FOI request is extended by 30 days in these situations. We advise that the timeframe for processing this request has been extended by 30 days in accordance with that provision. Subject to any other suspensions or extensions of time provided for under the FOI Act, the revised decision due date is now Wednesday, 17 December 2014.

If you require more information, please contact us.

Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet e. [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Henare Degan [mailto:[FOI #677 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 12 November 2014 11:39 AM
To: FOI
Subject: Re: FOI/2014/125 - Charges decision [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear FOI,

I've just provided my payment details via phone to pay the deposit for this request.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

-----Original Message-----

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Henare Degan,

Please see attached the charges decision in relation to your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.
 
Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #677 email]

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...

This request is being made by an individual using the Right to Know website. The unique email address provided by the service for this request satisfies s.15(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act.

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.

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

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Degan

I refer to the email below.

Please see attached receipt for payment of processing charge for your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (deposit only).

Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet e. [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: FOI
Sent: Friday, 14 November 2014 12:24 PM
To: Henare Degan
Cc: FOI
Subject: RE: FOI/2014/125 - Charges decision [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Degan

I refer to your email below.

Thank you for providing your payment details. We will provide you with a receipt for the payment of the processing charge for your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as soon as this is available.

As indicated in our letter of 20 August 2014 notifying of the estimate of the processing charge, we are writing to confirm that the Department has identified third party information relevant to your request. The Department has formed the view that it is appropriate to consult in the circumstances.

Under s 15(6) of the FOI Act, the statutory period for processing an FOI request is extended by 30 days in these situations. We advise that the timeframe for processing this request has been extended by 30 days in accordance with that provision. Subject to any other suspensions or extensions of time provided for under the FOI Act, the revised decision due date is now Wednesday, 17 December 2014.

If you require more information, please contact us.

Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet e. [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Henare Degan [mailto:[FOI #677 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 12 November 2014 11:39 AM
To: FOI
Subject: Re: FOI/2014/125 - Charges decision [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear FOI,

I've just provided my payment details via phone to pay the deposit for this request.

Yours sincerely,

Henare Degan

-----Original Message-----

UNCLASSIFIED

Good afternoon Henare Degan,

Please see attached the charges decision in relation to your FOI request with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.
 
Regards,

FOI Adviser
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

References

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1. mailto:[email address]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #677 email]

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...

This request is being made by an individual using the Right to Know website. The unique email address provided by the service for this request satisfies s.15(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act.

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.

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

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
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message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________

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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED

Our ref: FOI/2014/125

 

 

Dear Mr Degan

 

Please see attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request with
the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – reference FOI/2014/125.

 

Yours sincerely

 

FOI Adviser

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

e. [1][email address]

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
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