Skip to main content

Glass House FOI - Gotta love the bureaucracy

Glass House FOI - Gotta love the bureaucracy

QLD Bureacracy follow the same path as their NSW counterparts in release of documents requested through FOI about potential closure of long established routes in our National Parks.

Last July 023 I placed an application under the QLD Right to Information Act 2009 relating to the closure of the Glasshouse Mountains. My initial inquiry requested "Documents, reports and correspondence relating the closure of Mt Beerwah, Mount Tibrogargan and Mount Mt Coonowrin."

After some discussion with the FOI officer the terms of reference for my inquiry were altered to the following: "All documents containing consideration by the Government to permanently close any of the Glasshouse Mountains to preserve the cultural heritage of First Nations peoples."

After some weeks a response came back (31 August 2023) that there were no documents that met these terms:

Letter from QLD Dep Science and Environment - we have nothing for you!

I was quite surprised and asked if the specific terms "Beerwah" and "Tibrogargan" were used. It seems they were not, instead the search used the broader term Glass House Mountains as per the terms the FOI officer recommended. Despite both Beerwah and Tibrogargan being among the Glass House Mountains to my amazement the FOI officer indicated I would need to place a new application and pay an additional fee if I wanted these terms to be searched. 

I found this to be ridiculous and argued that Beerwah and Tibrogargan were covered by the terms of reference. I was told there would be no further searches and I would have to seek a review through the QLD  Office of the Information Commissioner.

In September 2023 I requested this review. Today I received the outcome - see copies below. This included a letter dated 23 October 2018 from a policy wonk working for the Minister to a member of the public about the Government's position on public access to the Glass House Mountains (also below).  

It seems I have no other recourse than to place a new application and pay an additional fee, which I have done. Petty Bureaucracy in action once again! (Where is the "service" in the Public Service these days?)

Letter from OIC 19 January 2024

2018 letter referred to by the OIC.

At least this part in the 2018 letter is positive, but what is the government's current position?...

"The Queensland Government through the Department of Environment and Science (the department) acknowledges the importance of the Glasshouse Mountains National Park to the people of Queensland and has no plans to permanently close public access. Occasionally, some routes and tracks are impacted by natural events such as rock fall, unstable rocks, bushfire, very heavy rainfall or seismic activity and require temporary closure for maintenance and repair, or to deal with significant safety issues, but no permanent closures are planned for the area." 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BOMBSHELL DOCUMENT LEAK - WCG MEETING MINUTES 2011-2024

 WCG MEETING MINUTES 2011-2024 We have been given access to minutes of meetings of the Wollumbin Consultative Group between 2011 and 2024. On the basis of the minutes it is clear the time for an independent public inquiry into management of Mt Warning National Park and the entire NSW Parks estate is long overdue.  Documents are made available as a matter of deep public interest in current management practices in our National Parks. What is happening at Mt Warning will be occurring in other Parks across NSW as NPWS continue to push for and develop handback and lease agreements of our public parks. In our view these plans are divisive: they prevent public involvement in managing public land, they will add considerable cost to managing our parks, and they will result in further irrational bans and limits on public access.  NPWS: "Custodians are looking at ways to progress handback at the June meeting. We envisage it will take 10-15 years for handback across the whole state."...
Post a Comment
Read more

NSW NATIONAL PARKS HANDBACKS - PROCESS HAS STARTED

NSW NATIONAL PARKS HANDBACKS - PROCESS HAS STARTED:  Welcome to the new Apartheid   People also said that Aboriginal knowledge holders need to have a role in determining the appropriate activities that can be carried out on Country/in parks.  People called for equal or majority Aboriginal representation on any joint management governing body, with a view also put forward that the governing body should consist of Aboriginal people only. A view was also put forward that the land should be restored to how it was at the point of first contact – pre colonisation.  This view went to the extreme of saying Healthy Country means the removal all things that were not present in 1788, including all buildings, introduced species and other infrastructure. NPWS' busy bureaucrats are in process of negotiating handover of our National Parks to private interests. The plan will potentially see every National Park in the state handed over to as yet unknown Aboriginal groups then leased...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation

 Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation March 30 (Easter Saturday) marks the 4-year anniversary of the "temporary" closure of the Mt Warning summit track. Some thoughts and rambled musings below.  I spoke with Ben Fordham about the anniversary on the Ben Fordham Breakfast show on 2GB. Ben's response a classic:  "If you want to climb, just climb it!" Link to that interview HERE . 4 year anniversary of bureaucratic madness We know the exact date of the closure thanks to bushwalker: Tertia Starr Maynard, who posted a photo of a note left on her windscreen by NPWS rangers to the reopen Facebook page . It was dated and read “NPWS advises Wollumbin National Park is closing from today due to covid19. Gate is not locked but please close behind you as you exit. Thanks NPWS.” Photo by T Maynard - the last walkers out.  In the 4 years since, after other parks were reopened, Mt Warning remained closed and the reason for the temporary closure morphed to in...
Post a Comment
Read more