Question Time

Freedom of Information

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Is the Deputy Premier aware of any comments by the Ombudsman about her conduct pertaining to freedom of information requests? If so, can she explain her conduct? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: The Ombudsman found it is necessary to 'comment on the Deputy Premier's conduct', including, and I quote:

…in every case the Deputy Premier has failed to justify her proposed refusals for access…the absence of any submissions from the Deputy Premier is even more alarming when considered against the amount of time the Deputy Premier has had to deal with this matter. By the time the Deputy Premier was notified of my external review, she had already had in excess of four months to deal with the [freedom of information] application. Despite the substantial amount of time, the Deputy Premier took a further two months to respond to my request for documents and submissions.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:19): I will largely take this on notice in order to make sure that I am commenting on the same material that has been presented, but I would point out that my office has had an inordinate number of FOI requests from the opposition leader, that has resulted in a—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please, members on my left!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: —huge amount of work for a relatively small office. There has been constant necessity to go back and try to refine scope in order to make the process manageable, and I think we are at something like over 85 requests for FOI, which has been very difficult for a number of staff. As I say, I will take the substance, however, on notice in order to have an official response.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the leader, can I have some order in the house, please. Leader.