When certain Government bodies can exercise discretion with regard to whether they investigate a complaint or not and these Investigatory bodies are exempt from the FOI Act and cannot be asked questions with regard to how they handled or dealt with complaints then what or who is there to stop them from conspiring with a Government Department to cover up allegations that can impact negatively on the reputation of the Government or their friends? If nobody can question them or their actions, then who is keeping them honest?
My family has made formal allegations of a conspiracy to cover up that goes all the way to the Ombudsman and the top and there appears to be no avenues to have these allegations actually investigated and addressed.
We have recently requested the Ombudsman provide us with evidence and documentation under the FOI Act http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/foia1989222/index.html relating to the enquiries that his office conducted and the reviews that were conducted with regard to our families ongoing allegations and complaints, as we are alleging a conspiracy to cover up. We have been informed that we cannot get this information from the Ombudsman and that Under Section 9 and Schedule 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 1989 that their office is exempt from the Operations of the Act in relation to documents that relate do the investigative, complaint-handling and reporting functions of the Office of the Ombudsman.
They state that Section 9 provides that any body or office specified or described in Schedule 2 (http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/foia1989222/sch2.html) is, in relation to such of the functions of the body or office as are specified or described, exempt from the operations of the Act. They state that Section 2 of the FOI Act list exempt functions of the body and offices for the purposes of section 9, It specifies the following: The office of the Ombudsman - the complaint handling, investigative and reporting functions of that Office.
Given that there have been people who have been running these high profile Government Departments who have been implicated in the past with regard to issues of pedophilia and child abuse and the like, how can these departments have discretion to choose what complaints to investigate and how to handle complaints with no available scrutiny of their decisions not to investigate or deal fairly with complaints etc. It seems to me that this situation can easily allow for conspiracies to cover up child abuse and neglect at the highest levels. Nobody should be above the Law and free from scruitany as this puts children at risk.
Our experiences are that there is an administrative process designed to cover up allegations against high profile public servants. Government Departments never investigate - they just make enquiries. When making enquiries they are only required to ask questions, they are not permitted to look at the evidence.
They allow those about whom you complain to handle the FOI applications for documents relating to matters that involve them and they allow them to destroy and change information to present whatever picture they want to present and they allow those about whom you make a complaint about to deem themselves innocent and handle and close the complaints that relate to them. Without challenge. Then they all believe what each other say - all the way to the top.
A Labor Federal Minister once said to me with regard to serious allegations that my family are making that he used to be a criminal lawyer and that it wouldn't matter what evidence we had - that it wouldn't be enough? He also told me not to bother going to a solicitor as they would just take my money? I now see how that can be. If the Law does not obligate anybody to investigate and actually look at the evidence and requires those making the enquiries to just accept whatever they are told by their own the our Government is denying ordinary Australians procedural fairness and natural justice. If those in positions of power are immune from scruitany then they have the power to play God - or the devil.
This situation has to change. The general public is being denied procedural fairness and thier rights. Our children are not protected!
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