Right To Information
Ever wondered if the Department of Environment and Science or your local Council has been involved in culling operations in your area? Do you want to know how they use the money they have been given, or the justifications for culling that may have taken place throughout the year?
Right To Information Search
We should be questioning everything our Councils and Government departments are doing, they work for us after all. Things such as how many permits are issued a year for people to kill our animals. What are their reasons for doing it, and why is killing our animals the solution? You can request this type of information, and more, through a ‘Right To Information’ application online. Simply search online for ‘right to information’ followed by the name of the department or council relating to your location to start your quest.
No Refunds
The Government have changed their terminology from ‘Freedom of Information’ and renamed it ‘Right To Information’ I guess it didn’t sound right as it kind of suggested it would be free. Its not however, it costs around $53.90 in Queensland and may be different depending on your area, you will need a separate form (and fee) for each department and there are no refunds. I found this interesting as the Government department completing this task would already be funded by the tax payer, however you have to pay – again.
Extras & Catches in a Request
If you are dealing with a department request, and they spend less than five hours processing your application they most likely wont charge extra. However, if they say that it will take longer, then you have to pay them an extra $8.35 per 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent on it. And if you would like to receive a black and white photocopy they also charge 25 cents per page. But before you begin, contact the department you are interested in, and make sure that you wont be refused the information. Yep, there’s the catch. You can pay your non refundable fee and still not get the information you want if they consider it contrary to the public interest. Try to be very specific in the information you are after, with times, dates, reasons for culling, locations, type of animal, numbers killed and methods used. You could also try and get their statistics over the last year on the number of permits issued for culling, the departments costings for certain things, and if they use resources from other states and other departments or councils when culling operations are conducted. You wont get the names of people doing these sorts of things, nor any volunteers or staff details of course.
So, if you are keen on finding out what a Government department or your local Council has been up to with our animals, and don’t mind throwing some more money at them, give it a go.
