‘Release secret Australia Day letter now’, Andrews government told

The Andrews government has been ordered to release a secret draft letter prepared for a minister about the contentious Australia Day date issue.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

The Andrews government has been ordered to release a secret draft letter prepared for a minister about the contentious Australia Day date issue.

The Office of Victoria’s Information Commissioner has overturned a Department of Premier and Cabinet ruling that releasing the letter was ‘‘contrary to the public interest’’ as it risked triggering ‘‘confusion and unnecessary ­debate’’.

The undated, unsigned one-page draft letter was prepared for a minister – whose identity has not been revealed by the DPC – in ­response to correspondence from a member of the public calling for January 26 to be dumped as Australia Day.

‘‘The agency (DPC) considers disclosure of the draft letter would be contrary to the public interest because it would be likely to lead to confusion and unnecessary ­debate, as the document does not clearly or accurately represent the final response, which was sent by the relevant minister,’’ Public ­Access Deputy Commissioner Joanne Kummrow stated.

Documents released to the Victorian opposition reveal the draft letter was an attachment to an email thread between DPC staff preparing an official response to an email sent to Premier Daniel Andrews on December 31, 2020.

Sent at 11.20pm, the email to the Premier carried the subject line ‘‘CHANGE THE DATE’’. The name of the sender has been redacted from the DPC documents.

The email states: ‘‘Change the date. Yes, it’s that simple, I believe you as a white person in power need to understand the power and privilege you have. 26th of Jan is invasion day. I know you know this, I know you know this day is wrong, I know you think you can’t change the date.’’

The email goes on: ‘‘Australian people are shameful of this day, it’s a day of mourning, a day of survival, a day of full blown racism. As I’m sure you know Australia is the capital of casual racism, something people around this nation have to deal with every minute of their life.

‘‘The only reason I can fathom for opposition to changing the date is white privilege, or perhaps even racism!’’

An internal DPC email on January 4 asks for the email to be referred to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Labor MP Gabrielle Williams was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in March 2020.

In her ruling last week, Ms Kummrow ordered the DPC to release the letter to shadow special minister for state David Davis, under Freedom of Information laws. ‘‘The content of the letter is not particularly sensitive given the context in which it was created,’’ Ms Kummrow ruled.

‘‘While there is a strong public interest regarding the date on which the Australia Day public holiday is held, this does not mean that it would necessarily be contrary to the public interest to disclose a draft letter prepared for a minister regarding this topic.

‘‘I note the agency’s concern that disclosure could lead to confusion or unnecessary debate on the state government’s final ­response to queries regarding changing the date of Australia Day. I disagree that its disclosure in this instance would result in this outcome.’’

Ms Kummrow goes on to say she considers the ‘‘contents of the letter are not particularly sensitive’’. Mr Davis called on the ­Andrews government to release the draft and not appeal the ruling.

“Premier Daniel Andrews’ ­decision to suppress a simple piece of correspondence is secrecy gone mad. He is determined to suppress it, despite the Information Commissioner’s direction that it be released as it is not an exempt document,’’ he said. “What could possibly be so sensitive in correspondence released by the Premier’s office or the department? Are these really state secrets?”

The Andrews government has traditionally expressed support for keeping January 26, but appears to be softening after cancelling the official Australia Day parade in 2023.

‘‘National holidays are a matter for the federal government,’’ a state government spokesperson said, going on to defend the government’s FoI record, saying ‘‘96 per cent of the record 43,978 FOI requests made to government in 2021-22 were granted in full or part’’. The DPC was also ­approached for comment.

The DPC told the Information Commissioner a final version of the letter was signed and sent by the minister, but it was not saved into the department’s document management system and therefore could not be found and ­released to the opposition as part of the FoI request.

‘‘OVIC made further inquiries with the agency with respect to its search for the tracked and final versions of the letter. I consider the agency provided a reasonable ­explanation as to why further document versions could not be ­located,’’ Ms Kummrow stated.