Kafkaesque Nightmares in Carpenter’s Castle

Carpenter Tables Unsigned Casey Report - was it ammended?

Well, you will be pleased that Greg* has reviewed Eileen* decision not to release the “Report of the Review of the Department of Indigenous Affairs” under the Freedom of Information Act, and agreed with her decision! Both are employed in the labyrinthine Department of Premier and Cabinet.

In a Kafkaesque letter seen by the Desert Rat, Greg explains his decision:

“I concur with the view taken by the initial decision maker (Eileen)”, but because the Premier has tabled the Report in Parliament (and made it public)”. Greg then states that he has “decided to reverse the decision under review (of Eileen) and release the report to you”!

The Desert Rat is bewildered by this sinister irrationality, how can a Premier’s Department apparatchik reverse a decision and release a report to me that has already been released to the public? In fact the Desert Rat already had a copy provided to him from Parliament House. The Desert Rat at least knows, that once the report was released by the Premier it was outside the scope of the FOI Act.

Then to add a touch of the absurd, Greg asks if I “would like to appeal his decision.” Well ...yes Greg, and if I am successful will the Premier then un-table the report in Parliament, pretend it has not been released, calls in all circulated copies with a threat of a Crime and Corruption Commission inquisition, with most of the powers of George Bush’s (Kafkaesque) USA Patriot Act, if anyone doesn’t own up to having a copy?

What on earth do these minions want to unleash? Poor John Lightowlers the Acting FOI Commissioner must be wondering what he has got himself into. Are they already trying to make his life impossible as he is the poor bugger that has to deal with this nonsense?

Carpenter: Unsigned report tabled, alleged to be an amended version of Dawn Casey’s Report

Well Greg the sad news is that you have not provided me with the Report for which I applied. Reliable sources tell me that this is not the original Report signed by Dawn Casey that she presented to the Government. This is an amended version which has not been signed!

I am told that Alan Carpenter didn’t mention that the report he tabled in Parliament was an unsigned amended version of Dawn Casey's report that had been rewritten within the Department of Indigenous Affairs (the agency under Independent Review! – how Kafkaesque!).

If this proves to be true, let’s hope Alan Carpenter expels himself from Parliament and indefinitely bans himself from the Parliamentary precinct (like Julian Grill has been). Will he weep into his cold cappuccino as he apologises to Shelly Archer and Anthony Fels for his sanctimonious bullying? Will he hand back his parliamentary pension and set himself up as a lobbyist when he regains his composure and run the gauntlet of the blackguards?

CCC Public Hearing required to find the truth

The Desert Rat thinks this matter should be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission so that Carpenter, Casey, Mal Wauchope and other Committee members can be cross examined in public hearings to get to the truth of the matter.

*Greg Moore is the Assistant Director General, State Administration and Corporate Support, and Eileen McCaffrey is Director, Organisational Management Branch, Public Sector Management Division in the Department of Premier and Cabinet.