RTIs of Interest and discussions on RTI

[ozbob]

OIC Review rights

https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/guidelines/for-community-members/information-sheets-access-and-amendment/explaining-your-review-rights-a-guide-for-applicants

[ozbob]

Advice received from RTI DTMR

As a regular Right to Information applicant, we would like to advise that from 10 August 2020, there will be an increase in fees and charges for applications lodged under the Right to Information Act 2009.

The application fee will increase to $51.70 and processing charges will increase to a rate of $8.00 per 15 minutes.

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail RTI disclosure log > https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/rti/disclosurelog

DTMR RTI Disclosure log > https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/About-us/Right-to-Information/Disclosure-log.aspx

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Details of fatal hospital bungles in Queensland kept secret

AT a hospital somewhere on Brisbane's southside, a woman arrives for a routine CT scan.

Thirty seconds later, she had a massive cardiac arrest and died – and hospital staff are to blame.

The bungle was just one of dozens of unexpected fatalities flagged in Queensland public hospitals that happen every year but never see the light of day – because the government keeps the information secret.

It means vital health information which would allow Queenslanders to make informed decisions on their health is being kept from them. It means a patient due to give birth or go in for surgery has no ability to check up on the safety record of their local hospital when it comes to fatal clinical incidents.

Not only are the details of unexpected deaths flagged by hospital staff for review treated as off-limits to the public, but Queensland Health even refuses to release up-to-date figures on how many such cases occur.

The Courier-Mail can only reveal a brief summary of what happened to this woman after a long and expensive search for answers through the state's right to information laws.

But still, we can't tell you which hospital's mistake caused the woman's death.

The patient, whose identity has not been released, had a known allergy to the iodine-based liquid she has been injected with as part of the procedure. But it had not been noted on her medication chart.

The RTI process is prohibitively expensive and takes months for documents to be released.

For instance, The Courier-Mail was charged $445 to access four pages of basic details of 23 unexpected patient deaths at Metro South – one of 16 Hospital and Health Services regions throughout the state.

RTI officers first quoted $1444 for two years' of incidents – equating to costs of $23,000 if multiplied across the state's 16 health services.

Even then the public is kept in the dark on the name of the hospital where the unexpected death occurred, with the health services redacting that detail from RTI documents in the name of patient privacy.


A redacted clinical incident report relating to the death of a woman at a hospital on Brisbane's southside.

The government is so determined to keep hospital deaths a secret that even after releasing the heavily redacted information Queensland Health warned publicity could "cause the community to lose trust in their healthcare".

"If there is a problem in a hospital then people have a right to know but they also need to look at why that hospital is having that issue," patient advocate Beryl Crosby, who has led a right-to-know battle for hospital patients since helping uncover the Dr Jayant Patel scandal in Bundaberg in 2005, said.

"I don't see why this can't be public. People need to know the risks. It's a patient's right to know and it's the public's right to know.

"It's about making informed decisions whether you wanted to go with that particular doctor or that particular hospital with the record that they have.

"People can't make an informed decision before they know what the history is."

The secrecy comes more than five years after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk rode to a surprise election victory on the promise of a new era of accountability and transparency.

Soon after the 2015 win, Ms Palaszczuk announced new laws to lower the political donation declaration threshold "as part of Labor's sweeping integrity and accountability agenda."

"I think this is a really exciting step forward when it comes to integrity and accountability issues. "No-one is more committed to good, honest Government than me," she then said.

Labor went on to overhaul local government integrity rules and ban developer donations.

But other areas of Government business in Queensland remain cloaked in secrecy.

Today, The Courier-Mail begins its Secret State campaign – a months-long investigation to expose the areas of Government business that remain hidden from public view.

It will examine how secrecy surrounding our schools, courts, law enforcement and our hospitals is undermining the promised brave new age of openness.

In recent weeks, the government has come under increasing scrutiny for failure to release information including refusing to reveal how much state funding schools will be given amid the carve up of $200 million in school spending to create jobs amid the coronavirus.

It is also silent on the status of a probe into Education Department staff found to have falsified student enrolment figures in the school principal recruitment scandal ensnaring former deputy premier Jackie Trad, who was cleared of corruption allegations.

In the meantime, the Palaszczuk Government was busy attempting to push through now-abandoned laws that would make it an offence for journalists to tell voters if political candidates were facing corruption allegations ahead of going to the polls.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath had justified the proposed gag on reporting corruption allegations by saying it was a recommendation of the Crime and Corruption Commission.

But Ms D'Ath has ignored another 2018 recommendation of the CCC to close secrecy loopholes in the state's freedom of information laws, the newspaper can reveal.

The Courier-Mail started its investigation by searching for details on the most serious errors in our hospitals, revealing that the details are rarely released outside of intermittent RTI requests by media.

Queensland Health has argued the secrecy is underpinned by the need to protect patient confidentiality and encourage staff to report incidents.

But it does not explain why information cannot be routinely released in a redacted form, with patient and staff names removed.

Details of clinical incidents released for Metro South, for instance, expose common problems that families of elderly patients could act on to help protect their loved ones.

For instance, nine of the 23 incidents resulting in the patient unexpectedly dying in Metro South hospitals in the 12 months to May 2019 involved patients falling over in hospital.

The 23 unexpected deaths were flagged by frontline clinicians prior to any analysis and include cases that were not preventable or may have resulted from an underlying condition.

One patient fell while rushing to the toilet, sustaining a fractured femur and later dying of pneumonia after complications from prolonged bed rest, the documents show.

Another patient to die after a fall that year triggered a review of all falls in the past 12 months resulting in patients being seriously injured or dying.

Another hospital patient died after a fall on the weekend, sustaining multiple rib fractures.

A review found a "mismatch" in staff and patient needs on weekends at the hospital.

"It is noted that there is one consultant rostered who is required to cover all medical and cardiology patients including (emergency department) admissions and phone calls," the review found. "There is currently no capacity for consultant ward rounds on weekends."

Another patient died weeks after tripping on a bed while putting their belongings away.

A Queensland Health spokesman said all incidents resulting in an unexpected patient death or permanent harm were reviewed to determine contributing factors and prevention strategies.

"Public hospitals in Queensland are amongst the safest in the world," the spokesman said.

"We have worked hard to develop a patient safety culture that actively encourages staff to report clinical incidents and see these as opportunities to learn and improve."

Clinical incident data was once routinely made public via Queensland Health's Patient Safety Centre, then run by Dr John Wakefield, who was appointed QH's Director-General last year.

The Centre spearheaded a transparency drive initiated by the crisis surrounding Bundaberg Base Hospital surgeon Jayant Patel.

One report for 2005-06 revealed there were 33,226 incidents flagged involving patient harm or near misses in Queensland hospitals, according to media reports at the time.

But the data is no longer regularly released by Queensland Health. It does report the data to the Productivity Commission for inclusion in its reports, but the figures are years old by the time of their release.

In 2019, The Productivity Commission found there were six Queensland events that resulted in death or very serious harm to patients in 2016-17. Two involved patients dying after medication errors.

The Palaszczuk Government has announced a new Queensland Hospitals Insights website reporting on patient safety, such as patient outcome information.

However, it is not planned to include data showing the number of clinical errors or a description of incidents in which patients were harmed or died on the website.

"There are more reliable measures for safety and quality – including accreditation and patient outcome information," a QH spokesman said.

The spokesman said the website has been delayed due to COVID-19 and would be launched in April 2021. It would include data from public and private hospitals.

At the moment, private hospitals are not required to report clinical incidents to the Government.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1303038884930969600

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> How Qld state-owned companies can dodge freedom of information laws

Dozens of state-owned companies that control millions of dollars in taxpayers' money are being protected from public scrutiny because of a controversial loophole declaring them off-limits to freedom of information laws.

The Courier-Mail can reveal corruption officials warned the Queensland Government to close the secrecy loophole two years ago, but it has failed to act.

It means public-owned companies can keep secret documents discussing everything from international travel to how they spend their taxpayer dollars.

Some of the largest state and council-owned companies slipping through the cracks include Brisbane Marketing, Screen Queensland, Queensland Treasury Holdings, which holds state assets including port land and airports, and Major Brisbane Festivals, which runs the Brisbane Festival and Riverfire events.

The failure to adopt the Crime and Corruption Commission recommendation comes despite the Labor Government last month justifying its attempt to introduce laws gagging journalists from reporting corruption allegations during election campaigns by saying it was following a CCC recommendation.

The proposed gag law was hastily abandoned amid an outcry the next day.

The Courier-Mail's Secret State investigation has identified dozens of public-owned companies that operate outside of the glare of RTI laws, which are designed to give Queenslanders access to Government documents to boost accountability and transparency.

Just 11 state-owned companies are currently officially declared Government Owned Corporations and subject to the RTI Act, while only a single entity – the Bar Association of Queensland – has been declared a public authority by regulation, opening it up to RTI.

Other council-controlled companies to escape scrutiny under the RTI act include Brisbane Powerhouse, TradeCoast Land, Museum of Brisbane and the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation.

Gold Coast council-owned companies that sit out-of-reach of the laws are arts hub HOTA Gold Coast and Major Events Gold Coast, which runs the city's events calendar.

On the Sunshine Coast, council entities Sunshine Coast Events Centre and SunCentral Maroochydore; manager of the Maroochydore City Centre development project, sit outside the RTI Act.

The transparency black hole comes despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promising a new era of accountability and integrity on rising to power in 2015.

That pledge came less than three years before the state's corruption watchdog recommended in 2018 that the council-controlled entities should be deemed units of public administration, subjecting them to the state's Right to Information laws and CCC oversight.

The recommendation was one of many arising from the CCC's Operation Windage probe into Ipswich council.

Among the findings, investigators revealed senior council members were able to use council-owned companies to allegedly spend funds "for questionable purposes".

Travel expenditure included hiring a private jet to zigzag the US, business class flights, meals at expensive restaurants and memberships to exclusive networking venue, The Brisbane Club.

The CCC findings followed a long battle by The Courier-Mail to unearth documents from Ipswich council-owned companies under RTI.

That ended with a 2014 ruling by the state's independent RTI umpire, the Office of the Information Commissioner, which found the laws did not apply to the companies.

Council had by then spent $83,521 on lawyers Clayton Utz fending off the newspaper's RTI requests.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath did not specifically respond to questions about why it had not implemented the CCC recommendation to subject council-controlled entities to the state's RTI laws.

She also did not comment on why public-owned companies such as Screen Queensland and Brisbane Marketing should be excluded under the laws, but said a recent review of the RTI Act had found the "current exclusions generally strike the right balance" when it came to government-owned corporations.

"Accordingly, we are not considering changes to the RTI Act in this respect, as none were recommended."

The review looked at expanding the laws to cover government entities currently out of reach, but ultimately recommended no change.

It was completed almost a year before the CCC handed down its Operation Windage report.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe last week told the newspaper it was not a case of the recommendation not being implemented, but "simply that consultation with the major stakeholders, including local government authorities, is ongoing".

"... The Palaszczuk Government is committed to the ongoing reform of local government to increase transparency, integrity and accountability," he said in a statement.

Asked about the recommendation, CCC chairman Alan MacSporran said it had not recently had cause to conduct a broader review of corruption risks across all government-owned entities but "the CCC encourages any mechanism that will enhance the transparency and accountability of how public funds are used."

RTI lawyer Rebecca Murray, who worked as a State Government RTI officer before launching her own firm, RTI consultants, in 2018, said the situation failed to meet community expectations.

"The public would probably have the view that if you are fully owned by the Government then why on Earth wouldn't you be subject to the Act?" Ms Murray said.

"We need to make more entities subject to the Act.

"Just because they are subject to the Act doesn't mean that all of their information is going to be released.

"It just means the opportunity is there for them to be held accountable if necessary and also for them to promote their accountability and transparency to the public."

Brisbane City Council in 2017 wrote to the Government opposing its council-owned companies coming under the RTI laws.

It also argued for higher charges for applicants.

It has since backflipped on its position, telling The Courier-Mail it no longer objects, so long as there were protections for commercially sensitive information.

The council refused to say why its position had changed.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Government staffers celebrated secrecy ruling, emails reveal

A Queensland Government-owned corporation celebrated the news that taxpayers would not learn how much of their money was being splashed for dubious benefit.

Ping. An email hits the inbox of a Department of Premier and Cabinet policy officer.

The email is a forwarded message, sent on to the Premier's office by Tracey Vieira, the then-head of the state's film investment company Screen Queensland just after 5pm that afternoon last August.

It is delivering the news that it has managed to strike out a decision that, if upheld, would have forced it to reveal how much cash it doled out to Disney to lure production of its film Pirates of the Caribbean, starring Johnny Depp, to Queensland.

"Here is the decision. As you will see it is very good for Screen Queensland," the email, obtained under Right to Information laws, says of the win in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The "actual figure" would not be released as it was off-limits under an exemption to the RTI Act that protects the confidentiality of information that has come before State Cabinet, it continued.

"..that finding alone means that the figure will now not be released," the email finishes off.

"So this is a pretty decisive win all round..that is the end of the matter."

The email marked the end of a cliffhanger four-year David and Goliath RTI battle that one

Government RTI officer initially incorrectly advised in internal emails would "wither and die."

It had begun with a seemingly basic question from Gold Coast producer Chris Boyd – a relative minnow besides Disney's hefty box office presence.

Boyd, of Glass Media Group, wanted to know how much money taxpayers had handed over to lure Disney's fifth Pirates production to Queensland in 2014.

"It was a very innocent application," Boyd says.

"I thought within two months we would know."

Boyd, whose company works on local corporate and television productions, was never in the running for the funding, which targets multimillion-dollar productions.

But he had invested a lot of time giving young locals an industry leg-up and was concerned about the lack of real opportunities.

"At the time of the RTI application and ever since, I've thought that these incentives required much further examination and scrutiny, which we still aren't seeing," Boyd says.

"We are being told of the benefits of these projects without being told of the true cost, so the public, the industry and Government bodies such as the Queensland Competition Authority are unable to make accurate assessments.

"Large taxpayer funded investments on behalf of the industry, particularly when gifted to massive US corporations to make movies, should be subject to the highest levels of accountability."

What transpired was a cliffhanger four-year freedom of information battle that would pit Boyd against the might of Disney, the Government and Screen Queensland.

Almost a year earlier, the Campbell Newman-led administration had struck a deal with the billion-dollar California-based Disney Studios to film part of Pirates: Dead Men Tell No Tales – here.

"Met with Treasury and Pirates is a goer," an Arts Queensland bureaucrat wrote to Ms Vieira at the time.

"Top secret at this stage," the same bureaucrat wrote in another email.

Ms Vieira, who departed Screen Queensland last year after five-and-a-half years at the helm, had lobbied hard for the funds, insisting it was "not corporate welfare" but "job creation."

Screen Queensland argued it would create tourism opportunities (it took an unexpected twist when the Pirates star Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard was caught not declaring her Yorkshire terriers Boo and Pistol).

Queensland was competing against Louisiana, Puerto Rico and Victoria for the film, Vieira warned.

But just how much taxpayers ended up paying was to remain a closely guarded secret.

This was despite the Federal Government revealing it had contributed $21.6 million.

Mr Newman, however, did offer some numbers. The film project would bring in "about $100 million to Queensland and create thousands of local jobs," he then said.

Boyd wanted to examine exactly how much of a boon the filming really was for the taxpayer dollars.

To his surprise, the response to his RTI application to the Premier's Department was a one-page briefing note in which the incentive sum had been blanked out on confidentiality grounds.

Boyd appealed to the state's freedom of information umpire, the Office of the Information Commissioner.

As a decision loomed, a Government RTI manager gave a worrying internal warning.

"This email is merely to advise that my previous assessment (potential for the matter to wither and die) was incorrect," he wrote.

Despite heavy resistance from Screen Queensland, which argued the releasing the figure would put Queensland at a competitive disadvantage to other states vying for the film projects, Boyd resoundingly won round one in 2016.

The Office of the Information Commissioner ordered the Pirates incentive be made public.

"That grant was funded by Queensland taxpayers, and there is a manifest public interest in allowing those taxpayers access to information ...in order that they may scrutinise what government committed on their behalf, and whether doing so represented a sound investment of their monies," the RTI Commissioner explained in her decision.

"It is noted that the Government made public statements detailing the benefits expected to accrue to the state as a consequence of the (Pirates) production.

"The release of the information in issue would allow the public to weigh those publicised benefits against the costs incurred."

But it would never be released. Screen Queensland appealed and overturned the decision in the QCAT.

QCAT deputy president Suzanne Sheridan found releasing the figure would reveal a confidential decision by a state Cabinet committee.

While the Government privately celebrated, though, Boyd says the government efforts to stop the figure being made public only drew attention to the need for more scrutiny of the incentives.

Boyd fielded calls from local and international press, including L.A. Times, which ran a story on the case.

"The fact that it was hidden created far more media than if it had just been released," he says.

"The fact that it was hidden created far more media than if it had just been released," he says. < got that CRRDA ?

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Secret state: Police resist releasing secret papers

Police are refusing to release documents on issues ranging from why experienced cops are quitting the service early to how many of its officers have been convicted of offences.

The documents are among those the police have fought to block access to under the state's version of freedom of information laws, the Right to Information Act, in the past year.

It has also resisted processing an RTI request by The Courier-Mail for documents detailing crimes involving Facebook, suggesting the search terms were too ambiguous.

This is despite it releasing documents detailing crimes involving the social media site to the newspaper on multiple occasions when it lodged identical past requests.

Previous requests, including in 2012, revealed police had logged 5000 offences linked to Facebook, including violent assaults on Queenslanders over content posted to the social media site.

But when an identical request was lodged this year, RTI officers suggested the newspaper should provide names of witnesses and even a "crime report number" to identify documents – information only the police would usually hold.

The Courier-Mail has met with similar obstruction from the police over a series of RTI requests since last year, with an RTI officer taking almost eight months to even issue a decision on one application.

In several cases, a senior RTI officer even refused to return emails and phone calls despite acknowledging she was required to provide a "reasonable opportunity to consult".

The RTI blockade comes 31 years after the Fitzgerald inquiry into police and political corruption paved the way for reforms such as freedom of information laws.

Other rejected RTI requests include an application for thousands of de-identified surveys filled out by police on departing the service.

That decision was upheld on appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner – the RTI disputes body – on privacy grounds.

The police also tried to keep reports on failed police prosecutions resulting in taxpayers footing court-ordered costs from being released publicly after another RTI request.

It argued the request was not valid because "it does not give sufficient information about the documents you are seeking to enable me to identify them".

Incredibly, the police RTI unit took almost eight months to make a decision refusing to release documents in that case, arguing the request was not specific enough for the "large and decentralised organisation".

In the police decision letter, the officer wrote that the newspaper had not provided any "clarification or articulation" about the request, despite the same officer refusing to return phone calls or emails during the consultation period.

But the letter was by then meaningless as it had been under external review for six months.

The documents were released last May after the Right to Information Commissioner's intervention.

RTI officers initially used a near-identical rejection letter to knock back another request by the newspaper for documents listing how many police had been convicted of offences since the Fitzgerald Inquiry.

It came after a string of officers were sidelined for alleged offences ranging from sexual misconduct to domestic violence.

After weeks of delays, an RTI officer wrote to argue the request for documents listing the officers' rank, type of offence and where they were currently stationed was "not valid."

"..your application as submitted is not valid because it does not give sufficient information about the documents you are seeking to enable me to identify them," the officer wrote.

"It is important that an application clearly and unambiguously identify the documents sought.

"The QPS is a large and decentralised organisation with the individual stations and regions maintaining police records.

"There is no central system, either statewide or at a station level that allows QPS personal to readily identify "all information" etc. relating to a person without further information to identify the specific incident's, investigation or court matter to which the requested documents relate and the specific type of documents you are requesting..."

Police later argued processing the request would be an unreasonable diversion of resources.

It is not just journalists who have come up against resistance under the RTI laws, which were designed to favour publication of government documents.

Police were found to have erred in knocking back another RTI application from a member of the public about the "suspicious disappearance" of their relative and inquest into their death.

The applicant had applied to the police for witness statements about the disappearance, but police had refused to deal with the application, arguing the investigation was ongoing.

A review by the Office of the Information Commissioner found in September 2019 that the refusal was not justified and more than 40 documents were handed over.

Assistant Information Commissioner Anna Rickard then highlighted "several significant delays" in police handing her office requested information and documents.

#SecretStateMate

[ozbob]

Couriermail 12th September 2020 page 34

No money trails for priceless PR



#SecretStateMate

[ozbob]

Office of the Information Commissioner-Annual Report 2019-20

> http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/docs/find.aspx?id=5620T1667

[ozbob]

OIC Media Release (via email)

28th September 2020

Access to information supports response and recovery in times of crisis

The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is encouraging Queenslanders to join communities and government around Australia and the world to celebrate International Access to Information Day (IAI Day) on 28 September 2020.

Access to information can play a key role in saving lives and mitigating the impact of crises such as the current pandemic or natural disasters.

This year IAI Day's theme is Building trust through transparency.

Queensland's Information Commissioner, Rachael Rangihaeata, said the theme highlights how important it is to have open, transparent and accountable government that proactively releases information to the community.

"It's a fundamental building block in a democratic society," Ms Rangihaeata said.

"Timely access to accurate information helps citizens follow responses to crises like the current pandemic or natural disasters.

"When government is transparent and discloses information, this empowers us as citizens to take responsible action than can help mitigate the impact of the pandemic."

The Right to Information (RTI) also holds governments accountable in times of crisis, when critical decisions about health or public safety, the economy and human rights are being made. RTI and transparency ultimately build trust, unity and can lead to better decision-making.

Ms Rangihaeata said proactive disclosure of information is critical to influencing community behaviour in Queensland and achieving health, economic and social response outcomes during the pandemic.

"We know Queensland's economic recovery will rely on access to information so individuals and governments can make informed decisions about matters affecting them," she said.

IAI Day in Queensland will have a predominantly digital focus in 2020, as we adapt to the challenges of COVID-19. The OIC has a dedicated IAI Day webpage for more information, as well as resources and links to online events.

(Note: Queensland previously celebrated this occasion as Right to Information Day, however Australian Information Access Commissioners have aligned with the United Nations' international campaign in 2020.)

-ends-

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1319287863586897924

[ozbob]

https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/decisions/financial-hardship-decisions

OIC: Financial hardship decisions

Granted: 30/03/2021    Expiry:30/03/2022   RAIL Back on Track   Financial hardship granted.

[Gazza]

Yeaaahhhh boooooi

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> REVEALED: What government secrets are costing you $

Hundreds of thousands of government documents relating to the performance of ministers, links to lobbyists and convictions of police officers have been kept secret from Queenslanders, a bombshell new report reveals.

The refusal to release documents comes as taxpayers spend half-a-million dollars attempting to access information through the Right to Information and privacy laws.

Annual RTI data reveals Queenslanders spent $550,000 on 16,118 applications in 2019-20, an increase of 8 per cent compared to the last year where there were 14,863 applications.

Exchanges between Labor-linked lobbyist Evan Moorhead and government ministers, private emails of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Transport Minister Mark Bailey and the number of crimes committed by Queensland Police Service officers were among a litany of Right to Information application rejections.  ...

RTI - " Right To Impede "  is a more apt description ..

[ozbob]

^

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1382707342014345223

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane Olympics committee documents, emails excluded from Right to Information rules $

Documents and emails held by Brisbane's powerful Olympics committee could be kept secret under a government plan to exclude the organisation from Queensland's Right to Information rules.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Wednesday introduced the Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics Arrangements Bill to parliament – the first leap towards delivering the 2032 Games.

Under the proposed legislation the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games – which will receive and administer about $5bn in funding – would be exempt from parts of the state's Right to Information Act, meaning some documents "of a confidential nature that was communicated in confidence" from the Australian and International Olympic Committees could not be accessed via application. ...

No great surprise to this humble 'seeker of truth'. RTI seems to more a ' Right To Impede ' than a mechanism of truth in Queensland.

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1453373296934674433

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1453374079415709703

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1453729985399640072

Couriermail --> Dangerous and undemocratic for Olympics committee to be exempt from RTI laws $

It is truly outrageous, downright dangerous – and, let's face it, undemocratic – for the government to exempt the Brisbane Olympics Organising Committee from the state's Right to Information laws.

The bill introduced to state parliament on Wednesday by Premier and Olympics Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk to establish the BOCOG clearly states all documents "created or received" by the body between its establishment and the closing ceremony in 11 years will remain secret. Every single one.

This is an affront to the values of open government the Premier claims to believe in. It is a sign that less than seven years since taking office she has forgotten the values she committed to, and has instead decided voters can be safely treated like mugs while she runs the state without the awkwardness of having to be transparent and accountable. ...

[#Metro]

The Olympics are well known for massive cost explosions and over-runs. Looks like they are just getting ready to obscure that if and when it happens.

[ozbob]

Noted this on the TMR RTI Disclosure log  https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/About-us/Right-to-Information/Disclosure-log


18 January 2022   RTI-2313   Reports, ministerial/executive briefings and attachments, audits, reviews, internal correspondence relating to the $255 million for the New Generation Rollingstock, European Train Control System fitment, installation of new signalling as referenced as item 1805139 in the 2020/21 Budget between 1 January 2021 and 18 January 2022.

Currently being processed

[ozbob]

https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/decisions/financial-hardship-decisions

Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland:

Financial hardship decisions

23/03/2022   23/03/2023   RAIL Back on Track - 220136   Financial Hardship Granted

[ozbob]

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/About-us/Right-to-Information/Disclosure-log 

Still being processed ...   

Noted this on the TMR RTI Disclosure log  https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/About-us/Right-to-Information/Disclosure-log


18 January 2022   RTI-2313   Reports, ministerial/executive briefings and attachments, audits, reviews, internal correspondence relating to the $255 million for the New Generation Rollingstock, European Train Control System fitment, installation of new signalling as referenced as item 1805139 in the 2020/21 Budget between 1 January 2021 and 18 January 2022.

Currently being processed

[ozbob]

I am starting to despise this mob ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1541899006850531328

[ozbob]

Published:

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/aboutus/rti/disclog/2022/rti-2313-release.PDF?la=en

Full of redactions  ...   

Noted this on the TMR RTI Disclosure log  https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/About-us/Right-to-Information/Disclosure-log


18 January 2022   RTI-2313   Reports, ministerial/executive briefings and attachments, audits, reviews, internal correspondence relating to the $255 million for the New Generation Rollingstock, European Train Control System fitment, installation of new signalling as referenced as item 1805139 in the 2020/21 Budget between 1 January 2021 and 18 January 2022.

Currently being processed

[#Metro]

Can this one go on Twitter? 

[ozbob]

Ha ha ...

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1541914880621821952

[ozbob]

Review of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector.

https://www.coaldrakereview.qld.gov.au/assets/custom/docs/coaldrake-review-final-report-28-june-2022.pdf

Pages 27-29

Extract:

"However, we should not underestimate the level of apprehension, even fear, within departments about the consequences of being 'caught' by an RTI request. This situation fosters a culture predisposed to nondisclosure. A number of people who have made representation to this Review have referred to a 'fear' that documents procured through the RTI process may end up in newspapers or on television and, particularly, a concern that if 'frank and fearless' advice was given and not followed, a subsequent RTI request would result in a headline indicating that 'the minister ignores advice'. One submitter expressed a typical view:

'It is my experience that the public service agency I work for does not fully appreciate their role in ensuring ethical decision making or impartial advice to executives. Rather than act in the best interest of the community, decisions are often referred to the courier mail test' ie. what would 'look bad' if the decision was to be printed in the courier mail. While how decisions reflect within the media is certainly part of the decision making framework for executives, these tests are being applied at a frontline and middle manager level, which effectively biases any options that are eventually presented to decision makers'.

No minister in any government will want to be the subject of a 'gotcha' headline, and so the human response of officials concerned about this prospect is understandable. Looking beyond the juicy headline, however, it is also the case that the act of a minister ignoring the advice of officials should not be viewed as an exceptional matter. Certainly, it should not mean that a bow is automatically drawn, as it sometimes is, to imply corrupt conduct. A minister has an obligation in their decisions to balance the officials' advice with other political or community considerations. In all of this, of course, the stakes involved for the minister ignoring officials' advice are highest on matters of greater sensitivity, for example, disregarding scientific advice or overruling advice about the location or costing of a major infrastructure project. The community certainly tires very quickly when politicians, of any colour and in any jurisdiction, hide behind Cabinet or 'commercial-in-confidence' to fend off legitimate questioning on even routine matters.

The Review received 28 submissions specifically about RTI issues and the role of the Information Commissioner. Eight of those submissions were from members of the public who felt aggrieved by their experience with the RTI process. They propose improvements. Some 14 other submissions were received on the same topic by current or former public servants. Most were critical of the agency culture and the processes of responding to RTI requests. One senior executive captured the concerns by describing 'attempts to suppress public records and subvert RTI processes'. Another longstanding officer described Departments as 'hiding behind [RTI] legislation to prevent data release'. Another submission referred to an allegation that important operational reports which previously had been the subject of RTI requests by other political parties were now given a different name and sent to different recipients in order to avoid those reports being captured in future. That same submission referred to a practice of including information in 'dashboard' format because these are, apparently, difficult to access through RTI. All these indicate worrying patterns."

Pages 64-65

Extract:

"However, the point to make is that agencies should not be
quick to agree to confidentiality clauses which are proposed by sophisticated commercial parties to protect
their own interests. An agency can exercise its discretion to disclose information even where that information
qualifies for an exemption, but the RTI process cannot overcome a lack of transparency if expectations are
not clear in the procurement process about the openness and accountability to the community that is required
when dealing with government. Government procurement policies provide that confidentiality and
commercial-in-confidence clauses should not 'be used as a matter of course and only included where there is
strong justification for confidentiality'

As was noted in a 2018 report of the Queensland Audit Office, 'the
public has a right to know how much public money government is spending, on what, and with which
vendors."

" It is to be hoped that acceptance of this Review's recommendations, particularly the more ready release of
Cabinet documents, and its comments on the need for greater scrutiny over what is deemed commercial-inconfidence, will provide the impetus for a cultural shift toward much more openness in government. "

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2022/873-2022.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 873
Asked on 30 August 2022

MR D CRISAFULLI ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

With reference to Right to Information requests lodged with the Department of Transport and
Main Roads in financial year 2021–22—
Will the Minister advise (a) the number of applications received, (b) the number of applications
that have not been finalised, (c) the average time for an application to be finalised and (d) the
shortest and longest time for an application to be finalised?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Broadwater for the question.

The Palaszczuk Government is committed to open and transparent government through
compliance with the information access provisions under the Right to Information Act 2009 (the
Act). I can advise that, in financial year 2021–22, the Department of Transport and Main Roads
(TMR):
(a) received 630 applications under the Act, 44 of which were considered as being
non-compliant, that is, the application fee was not paid or the application did not provide
the necessary supporting information, and did not progress
(b) five of those applications are still being processed in accordance with the Act
(c) TMR, on average, took 22 business days to finalise an application
(d) the shortest time to finalise an application was zero business days (finalised on the day it
was received). The longest time to finalise an application was 96 business days. This
occurred due to the size of the application, which required two charge estimate notices
being issued to the applicant and extensive consultations to clarify scope. The application
also required consultations with eight third parties. The applicant agreed to an extension of
time for finalisation of the application.

TMR administers its Right to Information applications in accordance with its obligations under the
Act and releases information informally wherever possible.

[ozbob]

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96782

New RTI Commissioner to start in January
9th December 2022

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
The Honourable Shannon Fentiman

Stephanie Winson has been appointed as Queensland's new Right to Information (RTI) Commissioner.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman said Ms Winson was highly qualified, possessed international experience and would bring a fresh approach to a valued, vital and independent position.

"We are privileged to have someone with Ms Winson's experience as the new RTI Commissioner," Minister Fentiman said.

"As head of an independent statutory body, we look forward to Ms Winson being autonomous and carrying out her duties in a fair and impartial way."

As an Assistant Ombudsman in New Zealand, Ms Winson led the System Monitoring Office, which was responsible for analysing and proactively intervening on potential systemic issues.

Ms Winson also oversaw more than 40 staff and her role included leading investigations and Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture examinations across seven jurisdictions.

Her impressive career includes being a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand since March 2002 and Secretary of the National Assembly in Namibia (1997-2000), having previously been Director Legal Services of the Namibian Parliament (1995-97).

She joined New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority as a senior solicitor in January 2001, before undertaking the role of Chief Legal Counsel with Maritime New Zealand in 2007, where she later was promoted to General Manager.

Ms Fentiman said Ms Winson's broad range of experience and qualifications, which included earning a Master of Laws with distinction at Victoria University, Wellington, were perfectly matched for the role of RTI Commissioner.

"Her skill set includes constitutional, administrative, criminal and international law, regulatory and policy design, public finance and drafting and law reforms," Minister Fentiman said.

"It's an all-encompassing position and Ms Winson's resume covers all bases, from working with and within governments to drafting law reforms and working with statutory bodies.

Ms Winson will start her three-year posting on 3 January 2023.

[ozbob]

Couriermail 24th December 2022 page 14

RTI Releases equals govt's record low

[ozbob]

^ RTI = Right To Impede

Shambolic !!

[Andrew]

Shannon Fentiman is turning into the next Kate Jones or Jackie Trad: Amoral political hack...

[ozbob]

Strategic review of the Office of the Information Commissioner, 2022

Media Statement

1st February 2023

The Final Report on the Independent Strategic Review of the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC),How to let more sunshine in, was tabled in Parliament on 31 January 2023 by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.

Information Commissioner Rachael Rangihaeata welcomes the report, its findings and recommendations.
The Review Report made positive findings about OIC's efficiency and effectiveness across our functions, within a constrained and changing operating environment, including legislative framework, technology, unreasonable conduct and resources. 

The Independent Reviewer, Mr Dominic McGann, commenced this review in July 2022 immediately following Professor Coaldrake'sFinal Report of the review of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector , titledLet the Sunshine in . The Report draws important connections between the Coaldrake Report findings and our role and the objectives of the legislation more broadly.

In terms of OIC's strategic review, it concerns itself with the broad (notably, whether in the performance of its overall functions, the OIC contributes to ensuring openness and accountability within the Queensland Government) and the particular (notably, whether in the performance of its day to day operations, the OIC is discharging them economically, effectively and efficiently).

This strategic report concludes that more sunlight will be let in by:

In terms of the broad:

(a) continuing attention to the legislative framework taken as a whole even if from time to time more focused amendments to it are progressed;

(b) ongoing leadership across all levels of the Queensland Government to ensure that a culture of openness and accountability prevails; and

(c) adequate resourcing of Queensland government agencies to ensure that a culture of openness is actually delivered on a day to day basis, year in and year out.

In terms of the particular, the OIC:

(a) to continue to exhibit a high degree of professionalism in the performance of its functions;

(b) within the limits of its legislative remit, to continue to form an element of the leadership which ensures a culture of openness; and

(c) to be resourced to a measure that ensures that it is able to continue to exhibit its existing high degree of professionalism in the performance of its functions.

The primary issue in this review relates to making government more accountable and transparent and to that end it identified the need for additional resources to be provided to ensure that the OIC can continue to deliver the high degree of professional work in the performance of its functions and so that the Queensland government agencies properly perform their responsibilities to transparencyunder the RTI Act and IP Act. Critically, however, each of the RTI Act and the IP Act is currently under active review and it is more a question of the extent of change as opposed to whether change will occur.

Accordingly, if the Queensland community is to be able to fully exercise the rights related to access to information and information privacy, it will be essential that the OIC and Queensland government agencies receive additional and adequate resources to enable each to properly perform those increased functions under the RTI Act and IP Act.

In terms of the timing of the receipt of additional and adequate resources, delay remains the deadliest form of denial.

Ms Rangihaeata said her office would examine the report in depth and work with stakeholders and the Government to progress the report's recommendations.

Read the Review Report here > https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2023/5723T23-F601.PDF

<ends>

[ozbob]

^ that's about the only sunshine you will see shine in with Queensland Government and its Right To Impede ..

[ozbob]

Couriermail 29th July 2023 page 24

We can't track light-rail files

[#Metro]

Wow, just wow.

These sort of documents should be held in a repository permanently.

Once published and signed off they should be permanently locked into the system, unable to be changed.

[Stillwater]

Don't these things normally go to the State Archives?

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/arts/heritage/archives

[ozbob]

Don't these things normally go to the State Archives?

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/arts/heritage/archives

Not if you want to hide things I guess   

This is high farce!  RTI is a joke ...

Even naming it Right To Information when everyone else knows it as FOI (Freedom Of Information) is no doubt designed to further obscure the truth.

#secretstatemate

 

[#Metro]

Do the LRT business cases constitute a 'public record'? One would think so given their importance?