Wivenhoe 2.0 update
FOR those of you following the Great Wivenhoe Pipeline Caper, another chapter has just been completed.
As you may recall, in early February I made an FoI application under the RTI (right to information) Act to receive a copy of the latest - second bulk water supply agreement (to pump water out of Wivenhoe) between SEQwater and Toowoomba Regional Council.
The RTI Act requires a response within 25 business days unless agreed otherwise, and on the last day of this initial inquiry I received a request to agree to an extension of time by a further 10 days.
Apparently the officer concerned was still waiting to complete his discussions with the “third parties” to the bulk water agreement.
I agreed and the date was extended to March 29.
By email on March 29, I received another request for a further extension of a month pushing the “response by” date out to May 1.
This meant I was faced with three options: (1) Agree to this further extension when the matter would continue to remain under consideration; or (2) Not agree to the further extension when a deemed refusal would come into force and the matter would be closed; or (3) make application direct to the Office of the Information Commissioner for an external review of the matter.
I immediately called the officer dealing with the initial application and was told the reason for the requests for extension of time was that he was finding some difficulties in dealing with one or more of the “third parties” he needed to consult with, which he volunteered were SEQwater, the Minister’s office, and Toowoomba Regional Council. He didn’t indicate which – or even perhaps all – of the three was being uncooperative.
I quickly concluded that even a further extension of a month did not guarantee a definitive response and have accordingly decided to pursue an external review by the Information Commissioner.
I have no idea what the outcome will be but one thing is clear. Someone wants the detail of the second Bulk Water Agreement kept under wraps even though it will have a significant impact on the council’s water policies and pricing for the next 30 years.
Granted, we cannot yet be sure if this obsession about secrecy – or perhaps simple lethargy in responding is down to the council. It may well be that all or any of the three departments involved is guilty.
But one thing is sure.
These shenanigans do nothing to stem my curiosity or drive to discover the truth.
TONY LAKE, Meringandan West