Letter

In response to Australian parliamentarians urgently need lessons in international law

The correspondence has been retained, Margaret

Margaret Reynolds makes the point well.

I note she says: “Volumes of unanswered correspondence from civil society — if these have been retained — could detail the efforts of so many Australians to alert the government to its responsibilities during such a devastating humanitarian crisis.”

We know from FOI that as of a fortnight or so ago, as previous letters note, Penny Wong had received more than 52,000 pieces of correspondence on Palestine, and Anthony Albanese more than 65,000. Their FOI people are refusing to make them available, on practicability grounds even down to the detail. (ran a simulation and found that one public servant would need x years…)

Albanese has answered none of it. I have not yet been told about Wong’s replies, if any.

— Geoff Taylor from Borlu