Travel arrangements and guest logs

Caitlin Huntington 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.

Caitlin Huntington

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

This is a freedom of information request.

I wish to obtain copies of:
* all travel arrangements for the week of 6 to 12 October 2008 for departmental Senior Executive Service officer Dr Gordon de Brouwer (ie airfares, hire cars; taxi use; hotel bookings).
* all records of attendance by Dr Gordon de Brouwer at the Prime Minister's Sydney residence known as Kirribilli House in the week of 6 to 12 October 2008 (ie times and dates of arrival and departure).

Kind regards,

Caitlin Huntington

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

FOI/2013/005

 

Dear Ms Huntington

 

Thank you for your email of 4 January 2013, received by the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) in which you made a
request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in the following terms:

 

1.       All travel arrangements for the week of 6 to 12 October 2008 for
departmental Senior Executive Service officer Dr Gordon de Brouwer (i.e.
airfares, hire cars; taxi use; hotel bookings).

2.       All records of attendance by Dr Gordon de Brouwer at the Prime
Minister's Sydney residence known as Kirribilli House in the week of 6 to
12 October 2008 (i.e. times and dates of arrival and departure).

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision

 

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Department except in
certain circumstances in which case we will notify you of the time
extension.

 

Removal of officer’s details

 

It is the Department’s policy to withhold the names and contact details of
junior officers within the Department and other agencies contained within
documents that fall within scope of the request. The names and details of
senior departmental staff would not be withheld unless there were some
reason for that information to be exempt from release. If you require the
names and contact details of junior officers please let us know at
[1][DPMC request email] for the decision-maker to consider; otherwise we will
take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the scope
of your request.

 

Publication of documents

 

In accordance with the Government’s pro-disclosure policy agencies are
required to publish information which has been released under FOI on the
agencies’ disclosure logs. If you wish to raise any objections to the
publication of any of the documents which may be released to you please
contact the Department by email at [2][DPMC request email].  Supporting reasons
for any objection would be appreciated.

 

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 to charge
you in respect of this FOI request, we will send you a preliminary
assessment of the charges as soon as possible. 

 

The Department will write again when we have further information. 
Otherwise, further information on FOI processing can be found at the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
[3]http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_....

 

 

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

 

Phone: 02 6271 5794

Email: [4][DPMC request email]

[5]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI
design element

 

 

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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

2 Attachments

Good afternoon Ms Huntington,

 

Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request.

 

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

 

Email: [1][DPMC request email]

[2]Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI design element

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

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
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you
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Caitlin Huntington

Dear FOI,

I have posted a money order for the deposit of $32.75 today.

Yours sincerely,

Caitlin Huntington

Macdowell, Toni, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

______________________________________________________________________

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
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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

Dear Ms Huntington

 

I am writing in relation to your request under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act) seeking access to:

·         all travel arrangements for the week of 6 to 12 October 2008 for
departmental Senior Executive Service officer Dr Gordon de Brouwer (ie
airfares, hire cars; taxi use; hotel bookings).

·         all records of attendance by Dr Gordon de Brouwer at the Prime
Minister's Sydney residence known as Kirribilli House in the week of 6 to
12 October 2008 (ie times and dates of arrival and departure).

 

Our reference for this request is FOI 2013/005.

 

The authorised decision-maker for your request is First Assistant
Secretary, Ministerial Support Division, Jamie Fox, Department of Prime
Minister & Cabinet.

 

I enclose Mr Fox’s decision on your request.  I also enclose a statement
setting out your rights of complaint and review.

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

 

Email: [1][DPMC request email]

[2]Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI design element

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Caitlin Huntington
[mailto:[FOI #38 email]]
Sent: Friday, 4 January 2013 6:20 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Travel arrangements and guest
logs

 

     Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

    

     This is a freedom of information request.

    

     I wish to obtain copies of:

     * all travel arrangements for the week of 6 to 12 October 2008 for

     departmental Senior Executive Service officer Dr Gordon de Brouwer

     (ie airfares, hire cars; taxi use; hotel bookings).

     * all records of attendance by Dr Gordon de Brouwer at the Prime

     Minister's Sydney residence known as Kirribilli House in the week

     of 6 to 12 October 2008 (ie times and dates of arrival and

     departure).

    

     Kind regards,

    

     Caitlin Huntington

    

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

    

     Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

     [3][FOI #38 email]

    

     Is [4][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:

     [5]http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/contact

    

     Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be

     published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

     [6]http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

    

     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.
______________________________________________________________________

References

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3. mailto:[FOI #38 email]
4. mailto:[DPMC request email]
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6. http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

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Caitlin Huntington

Dear Mr Fox,

I refer to your letter to me of 15 February 2013, in which you inter alia advised me that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet does not maintain records of attendance at Kirribilli House, and that certain documents were not available.

I note that Kirribilli House is property held on trust for the Commonwealth by the non-statutory body known as the Official Establishments Trust.

During the relevant timeframe, the Trust was administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Now, the Trust is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. I would contend that as the Trust, at the relevant time, was part of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and accordingly the records of attendance are, by implication, within the possession of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Alternatively, they were in the possession of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and have now been transferred to the Department of Finance and Deregulation; a circumstance which would require you to transfer so much of this request as relates to Kirribilli House to that Department.

On this basis, I contend that your search for documents was inadequate, and I request that you search again for documents within the scope of this request.

You should also be aware that I also intend to, at a later time, set out a case as to why I believe that the release of these documents is in the public interest, and why charges should be waived.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

Caitlin Huntington

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Huntington

 

Thank you for your email.  We regret the delay in responding to you. We
note your concerns regarding the adequacy of the document searches
undertaken by the Department in relation to your FOI request. The
Department is satisfied that all reasonable searches were undertaken in
order to identify potentially relevant documents. In these circumstances,
the Department does not propose undertaking the searches again at this
point. 

 

The Department has also noted your intention at a later time to set out a
case as to why you believe that the release of these documents is in the
public interest, and why charges should be waived.

 

Should you have any queries please feel welcome to contact an FOI Adviser
by return email.

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

 

Email: [1][DPMC request email]

[2]Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI design element

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Caitlin Huntington
[mailto:[FOI #38 email]]
Sent: Sunday, 3 March 2013 9:14 PM
To: FOI
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - FOI 2013/005
[DLM=For-Official-Use-Only]

 

     Dear Mr Fox,

    

     I refer to your letter to me of 15 February 2013, in which you

     inter alia advised me that the Department of the Prime Minister and

     Cabinet does not maintain records of attendance at Kirribilli

     House, and that certain documents were not available.

    

     I note that Kirribilli House is property held on trust for the

     Commonwealth by the non-statutory body known as the Official

     Establishments Trust.

    

     During the relevant timeframe, the Trust was administered by the

     Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Now, the Trust is

     administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. I would

     contend that as the Trust, at the relevant time, was part of the

     Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and accordingly the

     records of attendance are, by implication, within the possession of

     the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Alternatively, they

     were in the possession of the Department of Prime Minister and

     Cabinet and have now been transferred to the Department of Finance

     and Deregulation; a circumstance which would require you to

     transfer so much of this request as relates to Kirribilli House to

     that Department.

    

     On this basis, I contend that your search for documents was

     inadequate, and I request that you search again for documents

     within the scope of this request.

    

     You should also be aware that I also intend to, at a later time,

     set out a case as to why I believe that the release of these

     documents is in the public interest, and why charges should be

     waived.

    

     Regards,

    

     Yours sincerely,

    

     Caitlin Huntington

    

     -----Original Message-----

    

     Dear Ms Huntington

    

      

    

     I am writing in relation to your request under the Freedom of

     Information

     Act 1982 (the FOI Act) seeking access to:

    

     ·         all travel arrangements for the week of 6 to 12 October

     2008 for

     departmental Senior Executive Service officer Dr Gordon de Brouwer

     (ie

     airfares, hire cars; taxi use; hotel bookings).

    

     ·         all records of attendance by Dr Gordon de Brouwer at the

     Prime

     Minister's Sydney residence known as Kirribilli House in the

     week of 6 to

     12 October 2008 (ie times and dates of arrival and departure).

    

      

     

     Our reference for this request is FOI 2013/005.

    

      

    

     The authorised decision-maker for your request is First Assistant

     Secretary, Ministerial Support Division, Jamie Fox, Department of

     Prime

     Minister & Cabinet.

    

      

    

     I enclose Mr Fox’s decision on your request.  I also enclose a

     statement

     setting out your rights of complaint and review.

    

      

    

     Regards

    

      

    

     FOI Adviser

    

     Legal Policy Branch

    

     Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

    

      

    

     Email: [1][DPMC request email]

    

     [2]Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI design

     element

    

      

    

      

    

      

    

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

     Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

     [3][FOI #38 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.

     [4]http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

    

     Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be

     published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

     [5]http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

    

     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.
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
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3. mailto:[FOI #38 email]
4. http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...
5. http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

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Caitlin Huntington

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's handling of my FOI request 'Travel arrangements and guest logs'.

I think that it is entirely inconceivable that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has "lost" records relating to Kirribilli House. It is patently the case that the Department does not wish to exert itself in finding the relevant documents, or it wishes to be wilfully ignorant of their existence.

Again, I assert that documents relating to Kiribli House and the Official Establishments Trust were, at the relevant time, part of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and accordingly the records are within the possession of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, or the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has a constructive knowledge of their present whereabouts.

If it assists you, I am mostly interested in attendance on Friday 10 October 2008; the night of the infamous “what’s the G20” phone conversation with former US president George W. Bush.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/tr...

Yours faithfully,

Caitlin Huntington

FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

FOI/2013/005

 

Dear Ms Huntington,

 

Thank you for your email of 29 March 2013, received by the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) in which you made a
request for internal review under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act) in the following terms:

 

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet's handling of my FOI request 'Travel arrangements and
guest logs'.

 

I think that it is entirely inconceivable that the Department of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet has "lost" records relating to Kirribilli House. It
is patently the case that the Department does not wish to exert itself in
finding the relevant documents, or it wishes to be wilfully ignorant of
their existence.

 

Again, I assert that documents relating to Kiribli House and the Official
Establishments Trust were, at the relevant time, part of the Department of
Prime Minister and Cabinet, and accordingly the records are within the
possession of the Department of  Prime Minister and Cabinet, or the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has a constructive knowledge of
their present whereabouts.

 

A decision on your original request was notified to you on 18 February
2013. The FOI Act provides at section 54B that an application for internal
review must be made within 30 days of a decision being notified. While
your application for internal review was received outside of 30 days, the
Department has decided it is appropriate to accept your request by
allowing a further period for lodgement.

 

Timeframe for receiving your decision

 

The statutory timeframe for processing a request is 30 days from the date
upon which your application was received by the Department.

 

Authorised decision-maker

 

Section 54C of the FOI Act requires the Department to arrange for a person
other than the person who made the original decision to review that
decision. The authorised decision-maker for the review is Renée Leon,
Deputy Secretary (Governance).

 

Removal of officer’s details

 

It is the Department’s policy to withhold the names and contact details of
junior officers within the Department and other agencies contained within
documents that fall within scope of the request. The names and details of
senior departmental staff would not be withheld unless there were some
reason for that information to be exempt from release.  If you require the
names and contact details of junior officers please let us know at
[1][DPMC request email] for the decision-maker to consider; otherwise we will
take it that you agree to that information being excluded from the scope
of your request.

 

Publication of documents

 

In accordance with the Government’s pro-disclosure policy agencies are
required to publish information which has been released under FOI on the
agencies’ disclosure logs. If you wish to raise any objections to the
publication of any of the documents which may be released to you please
contact the Department by email at [2][DPMC request email].  Supporting reasons
for any objection would be appreciated.

 

Charges

 

Please be reminded that documents in relation to the original decision
will be released upon receipt of the balance of the charge for that
application. The remaining balance is $98.25.

 

 

The Department will write again when we have further information. 
Otherwise, further information on FOI processing can be found at the
website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at
[3]http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_....

 

 

Regards

 

FOI Adviser

Legal Policy Branch

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

 

Email: [4][DPMC request email]

[5]Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: FOI
design element

 

 

______________________________________________________________________

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.
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[DPMC request email]
2. mailto:[DPMC request email]
3. http://www.oaic.gov.au/foi-portal/about_...
4. mailto:[DPMC request email]

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FOI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Huntington

Please see attached correspondence.

Yours sincerely

FOI Adviser
Legal Policy Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Phone: 02 6271 5849
Email: [DPMC request email]

-----Original Message-----
From: Caitlin Huntington [mailto:[FOI #38 email]]
Sent: Friday, 29 March 2013 1:50 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Travel arrangements and guest logs

Dear Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet's handling of my FOI request 'Travel
arrangements and guest logs'.

I think that it is entirely inconceivable that the Department of
the Prime Minister and Cabinet has "lost" records relating to
Kirribilli House. It is patently the case that the Department does
not wish to exert itself in finding the relevant documents, or it
wishes to be wilfully ignorant of their existence.

Again, I assert that documents relating to Kiribli House and the
Official Establishments Trust were, at the relevant time, part of
the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and accordingly the
records are within the possession of the Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet, or the Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet has a constructive knowledge of their present whereabouts.

If it assists you, I am mostly interested in attendance on Friday
10 October 2008; the night of the infamous “what’s the G20” phone
conversation with former US president George W. Bush.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/tr...

Yours faithfully,

Caitlin Huntington



-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #38 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.
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offic...

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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