As an Australian tax-paying subject, I wanted to know how the Gov't spent (wasted) my money.
They needed to ask permission from pHarma first and apparently, that permission has not been forthcoming. Who'd have guessed?
On the 27th of January, 2024, I sent an FOI (Freedom of Information) request to the Department of Health asking what I thought were simple and obvious questions. That request was acknowledged by the FOI Officer on the 29th of January as you can see below:
Acknowledgement of receipt of Freedom of Information request
I refer to your request received by the Department of Health and Aged Care (the department) for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). You have requested access to:
How many doses of each of the following brands of COVID-19 vaccine were ordered by and delivered to the Australian Government or any of its Departments or subsidiaries;
How many doses of each of the following brands of COVID-19 vaccine were administered; and
How many doses of each of the following brands of COVID-19 vaccine were discarded as 'wastage'.
The brands I am interested in are:
Pfizer
AstraZeneca
Moderna
Novavax
The reference number for your request is FOI-4945. Please ensure that you quote this number in future correspondence with us concerning this request.
Timeframes
Your request was received on 27 January 2024. The statutory timeframe for processing your request is 30 calendar days and you should expect to be notified of a decision from the department on or before 26 February 2024. The period of 30 days may be extended if the department needs to consult third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
So, I waited for the 26th of February for my answer
On February 23rd, I received this information:
Publicly available information
The following public resources may fulfil the part 2 of your FOI request:
If these fulfil part 2 of your request, we seek your agreement to withdraw part 2. We seek your response by midday 26 February 2024.
Request for extension of time
The statutory due date for your request is currently 26 February 2024.
Section 15AA of the FOI Act permits the department to extend the statutory processing timeframe, with your agreement, for a period of up to 30 calendar days. (my emphasis added)
To ensure that department has undertaken all reasonable steps to identify all documents relevant to your request, and for the decision maker to make a well-balanced decision on access to any such documents identified, the department is seeking your agreement to an extension of 14 calendar days.
If you agree to this extension, the statutory due date will then be Monday 11 March 2024. The department will, however, continue to process your request as quickly as possible.
And I responded to them:
Thank you for your response. I’m afraid the information at the link you forwarded does not fulfil my request. Whilst it shows the total number of vaccines administered, it does not differentiate between the different brands of vaccine as requested.
I do agree to the extension of time to March 11, 2024 for completion of this FOI request.
My next response arrived on the 8th of March
Notice of Third Party Consultation
Documents have been identified in the scope of your request which contain information relating to third parties. It has been determined that it would be appropriate to consult with the affected third parties under sections 27 of the FOI Act prior to a decision on access to those documents being made.
Section 15(6) of the FOI Act allows the timeframe for processing your request to be extended by 30 days to facilitate this consultation. Accordingly, the statutory due date for your request is now 10 April 2024.Â
The department will continue processing your request and provide you with a decision on access as soon we are able to do so.
So just to be clear, the Department of Health feels that I needs to ask for permission from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Novavax prior to telling me - a taxpayer who actually funded (under protest) this purchase, how many doses of the jab the government bought with my money. That sounds legit!
So the STATUTORY (I thought that meant legally enforceable) 30 day deadline got extended once again…One rule for me, and a totally different rule for thee…
I received my final response from the Department on the 10th of April. Nearly all of the information I requested has been redacted.
Apparently, the excuse used is the public interest. So, they consider it in the public interest to withhold information from the public. Got it!
Here is one of the relevant quotes from the documents, which I will include below:
Factors weighing against disclosure
I consider that the following public interest factors weigh against disclosure of the conditionally exempt information at this time, on the basis that disclosure:
• could reasonably be expected to prejudice the commercial activities, relationships and arrangements of the department with vaccine producers, with a likely adverse effect that would be community-wide and severe.
So, it’s for the public good to keep the public in the dark about exactly how much of our money has been wasted on ineffective, dangerous and untested experimental gene-modification injections. Do you feel that your ‘good’ has been protected by the government in this case? Because I sure as hell don’t!
I will seek advice about whether to as for a review of this decision. I only have about two weeks to decide.
Also, I had the response in hand when I shared this information on April 14th but I just wasn’t ready because I hadn’t read the whole thing yet at that point.
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Obfuscate; to make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally, sounds about right. You weren't asking for any email addresses, just blank them out. Why are we having public inquiries & requests for Royal Commissions if there isn't public interest? You are a champion Meryl. Suggestion, if you are going to move forward with this; break down every paragraph & push this person's spurious arguments back up them sideways. This has & continues to affect ALL Australian's, fact. Next request, by ALL of us, the National Cabinet Documents.
Good work, keep the pressure on.
I've had no luck with any FOI request.
Aren't we lucky that we have a new e-safety commissioner to protect (prevent) us from understanding anything that may harm us or the community.
Soon you will be fined for asking the questions