❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding a Freedom of Information (FOI) request concerning Smiths Beach. The questions focus on a specific email, its format, and why it wasn't initially released, suggesting potential obstruction of the FOI process.
AnsweredQoN 730Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to my parliamentary question asked on 6 May 2009, concerning my freedom of information (FOI) access application on Smiths Beach, and the Minister’s answer, and I ask -
(1) What information did the FOI Commissioner provide?
(2) What is the basis for the Minister’s view that the 2 October 2008 email was sent by the Member for Vasse (as opposed to the Treasurer)?
(3) Will the Minister confirm that the email was sent from the Treasurer on the Department of Premier and Cabinet email address?
(4) Will the Minister explain how an email can be in PDF format?
(5) Was the 2 October 2008 email from the Treasurer in fact an email and not an attachment to an email, and therefore was not in PDF format?
(6) Is it not the case that the email should have been identified from a search of the Minister’s emails?
(7) Why didn’t the Minister release the 2 October 2008 email to me, in response to my FOI application?
(8) In answer to my parliamentary question on 6 May 2009, the Minister did not explain why she failed to release her reply to the Treasurer in response to my FOI application. Why didn’t the Minister release her reply to the Treasurer in response to my FOI application?
(9) Was the Minister’s reply to the Treasurer in PDF format?
(10) Are all documents held by the Minister’s office held in PDF format?
(11) Are all documents held in the Minister’s office stored in a ,‘correspondence database’, which does not allow a contents search?
(12) Did the Minister deliberately obstruct access to documents which should have been released pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act
?
(13) If no to (12), what action has the Minister taken to ensure this failure to identify all documents falling within the scope of an FOI application is not repeated by her and her office?
(1) What information did the FOI Commissioner provide?
(2) What is the basis for the Minister’s view that the 2 October 2008 email was sent by the Member for Vasse (as opposed to the Treasurer)?
(3) Will the Minister confirm that the email was sent from the Treasurer on the Department of Premier and Cabinet email address?
(4) Will the Minister explain how an email can be in PDF format?
(5) Was the 2 October 2008 email from the Treasurer in fact an email and not an attachment to an email, and therefore was not in PDF format?
(6) Is it not the case that the email should have been identified from a search of the Minister’s emails?
(7) Why didn’t the Minister release the 2 October 2008 email to me, in response to my FOI application?
(8) In answer to my parliamentary question on 6 May 2009, the Minister did not explain why she failed to release her reply to the Treasurer in response to my FOI application. Why didn’t the Minister release her reply to the Treasurer in response to my FOI application?
(9) Was the Minister’s reply to the Treasurer in PDF format?
(10) Are all documents held by the Minister’s office held in PDF format?
(11) Are all documents held in the Minister’s office stored in a ,‘correspondence database’, which does not allow a contents search?
(12) Did the Minister deliberately obstruct access to documents which should have been released pursuant to the
Freedom of Information Act
?
(13) If no to (12), what action has the Minister taken to ensure this failure to identify all documents falling within the scope of an FOI application is not repeated by her and her office?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
4 June 2009
Responded by
Minister for Environment
Response time
28 days
(1) The FOI Commissioner provided details of your complaint and made a request for the FOI file regarding your application.
(2) The Member for Vasse is also the Treasurer.
(3) Yes
(4) The email is printed and scanned, which converts the document into PDF format.
(5) The email from the Treasurer was an email that had been printed and scanned and then converted into PDF format.
(6) I am advised that on the 19 November my office was advised by Information Technology at Department of Premier and Cabinet that emails from 23 September to 6 October 2008 to the Ministerial email account had been deleted in error. The only record of the Treasurer's email was therefore in TRIM.
(7) I am advised by my office that the original search did not pick up on this email as it was in a PDF format which does not allow a contents search on the correspondence database.
(8) The reply was stored in PDF format as part of the TRIM record created from the Treasurer's email. As the search did not pick up on the email, the reply was also not identified.
(9) The signed letter was scanned and stored in TRIM in PDF format.
(10) All signed letters are scanned and stored in TRIM in PDF format.
(11) See response to (10).
(12) No
(13) Procedural issues were identified and have been subsequently rectified. Correspondence officers have ongoing training in document management.
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(2) The Member for Vasse is also the Treasurer.
(3) Yes
(4) The email is printed and scanned, which converts the document into PDF format.
(5) The email from the Treasurer was an email that had been printed and scanned and then converted into PDF format.
(6) I am advised that on the 19 November my office was advised by Information Technology at Department of Premier and Cabinet that emails from 23 September to 6 October 2008 to the Ministerial email account had been deleted in error. The only record of the Treasurer's email was therefore in TRIM.
(7) I am advised by my office that the original search did not pick up on this email as it was in a PDF format which does not allow a contents search on the correspondence database.
(8) The reply was stored in PDF format as part of the TRIM record created from the Treasurer's email. As the search did not pick up on the email, the reply was also not identified.
(9) The signed letter was scanned and stored in TRIM in PDF format.
(10) All signed letters are scanned and stored in TRIM in PDF format.
(11) See response to (10).
(12) No
(13) Procedural issues were identified and have been subsequently rectified. Correspondence officers have ongoing training in document management.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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