❓ Mr. Jacob asks the Premier for an update on FOI applications received by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Premier's office. The Premier responds by highlighting the increase in FOI requests under the current government and questioning their value and cost.
AnsweredQoN 185Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT — APPLICATIONS
185. Mr A.P. JACOB to the Premier:
The Freedom of Information Act is an
important mechanism of democratic government that allows third parties outside
of government to find information that reaches beyond a media release or a
ministerial statement. Can the Premier please update the house on a number of
freedom of information applications that the Department of the Premier and
Cabinet and the Premier's office have received recently, and also the
nature of some of these applications?
INFORMATION ACT — APPLICATIONS
185. Mr A.P. JACOB to the Premier:
The Freedom of Information Act is an
important mechanism of democratic government that allows third parties outside
of government to find information that reaches beyond a media release or a
ministerial statement. Can the Premier please update the house on a number of
freedom of information applications that the Department of the Premier and
Cabinet and the Premier's office have received recently, and also the
nature of some of these applications?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Ocean Reef
for that question. FOI is an important feature of modern democracy; it is an
important tool of accountability. I remind members that it was this government,
through the Attorney General, that appointed an independent Information
Commissioner, something that was not in place during the previous government.
It was this government that also increased the number of staff resources for
the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Mr
M. McGowan : That's rubbish!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The former Labor government did not appoint anyone.
If we look at the question related
to FOI requests to either the Premier's office or the Department of the
Premier and Cabinet, we would expect a Premier's office to get such
requests. For the record, during the last three years of the Labor government,
there were 34 FOI requests to the Premier.
Several members interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Let us listen!
There were 34 FOI requests during
the last three years of Labor government. During the three and half years so
far of this government, there have been 195 FOI requests—a sixfold
increase.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, I think the question asked —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : It has taken us 47 minutes to get to this point. A lot of that
time has been chewed up by me getting to my feet as a result of interjections.
I would like to get through more questions. I give this to you, members, again
as my mantra: the more people who interject, the less opportunity they have to
ask questions.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : There
has been a sixfold increase and that is such as it is. But there are also
issues about the quality and significance, I guess, of an FOI request, and the
cost of meeting that request; they are important public issues. It may be of
interest to members that amongst that sixfold increase there have been 11 FOI
applications in the first few months of this year directed to my office and
specifically related to the director of government media, Dixie Marshall. There
have been 11 FOI applications related to Dixie Marshall. Dixie Marshall is the
most FOI-ed person in the state's history! With 11 FOIs, I do not know
what the opposition is looking for, but it has found nothing, and it has found
nothing because it may be that there is nothing to find. Of the 195 FOI
requests to my office, 95 per cent have come from ALP members of Parliament.
This is not the public seeking information, it is solely the ALP; and 11 of
those applications relate to the world record holder for FOI applications,
Dixie Marshall.
I also want to make the point about the cost of these. At a
minimum—this would be the skinniest—an FOI application will
take at least five hours of public sector time to deal with. That is the
minimum. You can say probably $250 at a minimum. More typically an FOI request
will take around 10 hours to deal with. Some of them, including some of these,
have taken over a week to deal with. In other words, they are literally costing
thousands of dollars each. Some have taken two or three weeks.
If they are matters of significance, of state importance, of
true accountability, that is a cost, I think, anyone would be prepared to bear.
But, Mr Speaker, can I just alert you to an example—this is not rare—of
the sort of FOI request that we receive from the opposition. It is a request
relating to five members of my staff; I am not going to name them. It seeks
information including all documents such as written correspondence, emails,
files, file notes, notation, diary notes and SMS messages across five staff. It
includes all those documents and all those items of communication which may
have any of the following words or phrases: ''Sneakers'', ''the
Sneaker'', ''the Sneakers'', ''sneaky'', ''sneakie'',
''the Sneaker's file'' and ''Sneaker file''.
How long would it take to search for all of those words, for all of that
correspondence for five people across Premier and Cabinet?
This is taking so long and costing so much money. I will give
members a progress report: nothing has been found, but we are going on. We are
continuing. We cannot find reference to sneakers. Why would anyone ask a
question like that? Who would ask a question about all those words and why? Is
it the Leader of the Opposition? I know his colleagues call him ''Sneakers''.
It is very unkind, but they do. But no, it is the member for Victoria Park, the
would-be Treasurer, the would-be standard bearer for accountability who put in
this absurd request. The member for Victoria Park should tell us why he asked
the question, because it has cost thousands of dollars so far.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Apparently there is nothing. Can you confirm there is nothing,
Premier?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Nothing has been found. We have not finished. It is too big a task! We are
still going on. Nothing has been found. But why would he ask? The member for
Victoria Park should just tell us why he would ask such a ridiculous question.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
Because you've already sacked somebody for dirty tricks, and I want to
know what else there is.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Give me a break! Thousands of dollars have gone on this. You are a complete
incompetent. Leader of the Opposition, that is how you are wasting the
resources of this state government.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Premier and member for Victoria Park, the question had finished. I
am not interested in your further conversations. I formally call you both to
order for the first time today.
for that question. FOI is an important feature of modern democracy; it is an
important tool of accountability. I remind members that it was this government,
through the Attorney General, that appointed an independent Information
Commissioner, something that was not in place during the previous government.
It was this government that also increased the number of staff resources for
the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Mr
M. McGowan : That's rubbish!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : The former Labor government did not appoint anyone.
If we look at the question related
to FOI requests to either the Premier's office or the Department of the
Premier and Cabinet, we would expect a Premier's office to get such
requests. For the record, during the last three years of the Labor government,
there were 34 FOI requests to the Premier.
Several members interjected.
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Let us listen!
There were 34 FOI requests during
the last three years of Labor government. During the three and half years so
far of this government, there have been 195 FOI requests—a sixfold
increase.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, members!
Mr
C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, I think the question asked —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : It has taken us 47 minutes to get to this point. A lot of that
time has been chewed up by me getting to my feet as a result of interjections.
I would like to get through more questions. I give this to you, members, again
as my mantra: the more people who interject, the less opportunity they have to
ask questions.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : There
has been a sixfold increase and that is such as it is. But there are also
issues about the quality and significance, I guess, of an FOI request, and the
cost of meeting that request; they are important public issues. It may be of
interest to members that amongst that sixfold increase there have been 11 FOI
applications in the first few months of this year directed to my office and
specifically related to the director of government media, Dixie Marshall. There
have been 11 FOI applications related to Dixie Marshall. Dixie Marshall is the
most FOI-ed person in the state's history! With 11 FOIs, I do not know
what the opposition is looking for, but it has found nothing, and it has found
nothing because it may be that there is nothing to find. Of the 195 FOI
requests to my office, 95 per cent have come from ALP members of Parliament.
This is not the public seeking information, it is solely the ALP; and 11 of
those applications relate to the world record holder for FOI applications,
Dixie Marshall.
I also want to make the point about the cost of these. At a
minimum—this would be the skinniest—an FOI application will
take at least five hours of public sector time to deal with. That is the
minimum. You can say probably $250 at a minimum. More typically an FOI request
will take around 10 hours to deal with. Some of them, including some of these,
have taken over a week to deal with. In other words, they are literally costing
thousands of dollars each. Some have taken two or three weeks.
If they are matters of significance, of state importance, of
true accountability, that is a cost, I think, anyone would be prepared to bear.
But, Mr Speaker, can I just alert you to an example—this is not rare—of
the sort of FOI request that we receive from the opposition. It is a request
relating to five members of my staff; I am not going to name them. It seeks
information including all documents such as written correspondence, emails,
files, file notes, notation, diary notes and SMS messages across five staff. It
includes all those documents and all those items of communication which may
have any of the following words or phrases: ''Sneakers'', ''the
Sneaker'', ''the Sneakers'', ''sneaky'', ''sneakie'',
''the Sneaker's file'' and ''Sneaker file''.
How long would it take to search for all of those words, for all of that
correspondence for five people across Premier and Cabinet?
This is taking so long and costing so much money. I will give
members a progress report: nothing has been found, but we are going on. We are
continuing. We cannot find reference to sneakers. Why would anyone ask a
question like that? Who would ask a question about all those words and why? Is
it the Leader of the Opposition? I know his colleagues call him ''Sneakers''.
It is very unkind, but they do. But no, it is the member for Victoria Park, the
would-be Treasurer, the would-be standard bearer for accountability who put in
this absurd request. The member for Victoria Park should tell us why he asked
the question, because it has cost thousands of dollars so far.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : Apparently there is nothing. Can you confirm there is nothing,
Premier?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Nothing has been found. We have not finished. It is too big a task! We are
still going on. Nothing has been found. But why would he ask? The member for
Victoria Park should just tell us why he would ask such a ridiculous question.
Mr B.S. Wyatt :
Because you've already sacked somebody for dirty tricks, and I want to
know what else there is.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Give me a break! Thousands of dollars have gone on this. You are a complete
incompetent. Leader of the Opposition, that is how you are wasting the
resources of this state government.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Premier and member for Victoria Park, the question had finished. I
am not interested in your further conversations. I formally call you both to
order for the first time today.
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