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WA Animal Welfare Transparency

Action Log

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Action Log – WA Animal Welfare Transparency

Section titled “Action Log – WA Animal Welfare Transparency”

Maintained by Hanyu Liu
Last updated: September 2025

This is a structural record — not of what was achieved,
but of what was attempted, requested, refused, and left undocumented.

Each entry is part of a wider cycle:
→ Legal request → Institutional response or silence → Public memory trace.
This log preserves that cycle,
not as progress — but as accountability.

How to read symbols: ✓ delivered · ~ procedural · ∅ no documents · ✖ exempt/withheld

🔁 Cycle 1 – FOI on Designated Inspectors (DPIRD)

Section titled “🔁 Cycle 1 – FOI on Designated Inspectors (DPIRD)”

The first record of structural refusal.
A formal trace of institutional silence.

📅 FOI1 – Timeline of Requests and Responses

Section titled “📅 FOI1 – Timeline of Requests and Responses”
DateEventLinked Document
5 Apr 2025FOI lodged to DPIRD (ID 52549500734)FOI Request
1 May 2025∅ DPIRD states no inspection outcomes existFOI Response
8 May 2025✖ Section 26 refusal requested + public statementSection 26 Statement
21 May 2025~ Extension to 6 June acceptedDue Date Extension
30 May 2025∅ Notice of Decision issued — confirms absenceNotice of Decision
30 May 2025~ Response cycle concluded and archivedInspection Summary
7 Jun 2025✖ External review prematurely lodged with OICOIC Rejection Notice
13 Jun 2025~ Internal review formally requested from DPIRDInternal Review Request Email
18 Jun 2025~ DPIRD confirms internal review process initiatedInternal Review Acknowledgement
30 Jun 2025~ DPIRD requests 1-week extension for internal reviewExtension Request
8 Jul 2025✖ Internal review decision issued — contradiction arisesIR Decision

📝 FOI1 Summary

Section titled “📝 FOI1 Summary”

What was asked:
Whether Designated Inspectors (DIs) conducted inspections, produced outcome summaries, or faced internal review from 2022–2025.

What was revealed:

  • ∅ Initial refusal under Section 26: no documents exist.
  • Only a blank template released.
  • ✖ Internal Review later admitted outcome reports exist — a direct contradiction.

Structural meaning:
FOI1 = Result vacuum. (The agency claimed no results existed, then contradicted itself.)

Status: ⏳ OIC external review ongoing (Ref: FOI2025-008).

📤 External Review – OIC

Section titled “📤 External Review – OIC”
DateEventLinked Document
10 Jul 2025Complaint lodged with OIC under s.65ER Submission
17 Jul 2025OIC accepts review but states no timeframeER Acknowledge
16 Sep 2025OIC confirms no written case allocation policyClarification Request
18 Sep 2025FOI lodged with OIC itself (re case protocols)OIC FOI Application

📝 OIC Review Summary

Section titled “📝 OIC Review Summary”
  • Indefinite wait at acceptance (17 Jul); OIC Annual Report shows ~40% of reviews exceed 12 months (Report).
  • No written allocation policy admitted (16 Sep) → discretionary, non-chronological triage = time black hole.
  • Counter-FOI lodged with OIC to obtain case-management protocols.

🧭 Oversight Escalation (Cycle 1)

Section titled “🧭 Oversight Escalation (Cycle 1)”
DateInstitutionEvent / OutcomeLinked Document
5 Aug 2025OAGScope clarification replyOAG Reply
22 Jul 2025OmbudsmanDefers: will not act until OIC concludesOmbudsman Letter
25 Sep 2025OmbudsmanComplaint lodged re OIC delayComplaint Form
3 Oct 2025OmbudsmanFormal reply: will not investigate OIC delaysOmbudsman No Jurisdiction

Structural meaning:
OIC = time black hole
Ombudsman = jurisdictional void
OAG = non-intervention
Together = oversight deadlock confirmed.

🔁 Cycle 2 – FOI2: Oversight & Institutional Risk Blind Spots

Section titled “🔁 Cycle 2 – FOI2: Oversight & Institutional Risk Blind Spots”

A structured escalation — from absence of data, to absence of oversight.

📅 FOI2 – Timeline

Section titled “📅 FOI2 – Timeline”
DateEventLinked Document
10 Jul 2025FOI2 submitted to DPIRDFOI2 Email, FOI2 Form
10 Jul 2025~ Acknowledgement of FOI2 by DPIRDFOI2 Acknowledgement
20 Aug 2025~ Extension requested by DPIRDExtension Email
8 Sep 2025∅ Notice of Decision: Section 26 — no oversight/risk/SOPNotice of Decision
10 Sep 2025✖ Internal review request lodgedIR2 Application
10 Sep 2025~ IR2 acknowledged, due by 25 SepIR2 Acknowledge
17 Sep 2025~ IR2 extension requestedIR2 Extension
2 Oct 2025✖ Internal Review Decision — confirms unreasonable search & misconstructionIR2 Decision
2 Oct 2025✓ External Review lodged with OIC (ER2)ER2 Application

Structural meaning:
FOI2 = Process vacuum → confirmed bad faith search.
DPIRD restricted keywords to “DI”, excluding all policy and risk terms.
IR2 concluded: search unreasonable, scope illogical.
ER2 now tests OIC’s ability to correct it.

🔁 Cycle 3 – FOI3: Ministerial Briefings & Integrity Channels

Section titled “🔁 Cycle 3 – FOI3: Ministerial Briefings & Integrity Channels”

From missing data → to missing escalation pathways.

📅 FOI3 – Timeline

Section titled “📅 FOI3 – Timeline”
DateEventLinked Document
22 Aug 2025FOI3 lodged: ministerial briefings, OAG/Ombudsman contact, DI auditsFOI3 Application
25 Aug 2025~ DPIRD acknowledges FOI3FOI3 Acknowledge

Structural meaning:
FOI3 = Accountability vacuum. (No evidence of reporting upward; the chain of responsibility cuts off.)

⏳ Response due 9 Oct 2025.

✉️ Institutional Contact Log

Section titled “✉️ Institutional Contact Log”

All correspondence here is public interest–driven, grouped by institutional role.
Each FOI cycle: the institutions listed below are notified by broadcast email of new outcomes.
Note: This log only covers accountability broadcasts to institutional nodes. One-on-one exchanges with NGOs or individuals are not archived.

1. Government Oversight & Accountability

Section titled “1. Government Oversight & Accountability”
  • WA FOI Commissioner (OIC)
  • WA Ombudsman
  • Office of the Auditor General (OAG)
  • Public Administration Committee Secretariat
  • Environment and Public Affairs Committee Secretariat
  • Minister for Agriculture & Food
  • Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC)

2. Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organisations

Section titled “2. Animal Welfare & Advocacy Organisations”
  • Animal Justice Party (AJP WA)
  • Animals Australia
  • RSPCA WA
  • Anonymous for the Voiceless (Perth)
  • Sentient
  • Animal Liberation
  • Australian Alliance for Animals
  • Voiceless

3. Media & Public Scrutiny

Section titled “3. Media & Public Scrutiny”
  • ABC News
  • WA Today
  • The West Australian
  • The Guardian Australia
  • SBS Australia
  • 9News
  • PerthNow
  • Crikey
  • Farm Transparency Project (FTP)
  • The Conversation

4. Political/Parliamentary Recipients

Section titled “4. Political/Parliamentary Recipients”
  • WA Greens (incl. Jess Beckerling MLC)
  • WA Labor (committee members)
  • Legislative Council Members (Standing Committees)
  • Select Committee on Animal Welfare

5. Broadcast Emails

Section titled “5. Broadcast Emails”

📥 Responses Received

Section titled “📥 Responses Received”

🧭 Forthcoming Cycles

Section titled “🧭 Forthcoming Cycles”
  • Cycle 4: OIC Case Management Protocol FOI (pending)
  • Cycle 5: Ombudsman complaint on OIC delays (drafting)
  • Cycle 6: Parliamentary committee briefings (planned)
  • Archive Expansion: visual timelines, heatmaps of systemic silence, comparative trace analysis.

This archive is not static.
Each new request is a test of what the system refuses to hold.

This is not against institutions.
It is against the belief that animals can disappear without a trace.

🔄 FOI Process Flow

Section titled “🔄 FOI Process Flow”

FOI Request (Freedom of Information)
↓
Agency Response

  • ✓ Documents released
  • ∅ “No documents” (Section 26)
  • ✖ Refused / Exempt
  • ~ Extension / Procedural delay
    ↓
    Internal Review (IR)
  • Applicant challenges decision inside same agency
  • Agency may confirm, reverse, or contradict itself
    ↓
    External Review (ER) – OIC
  • Independent review of whether the search was “reasonable”
  • BUT: often indefinite backlog, opaque allocation
    ↓
    Ombudsman / Auditor General / Parliament
  • Higher oversight bodies
  • Risk of deadlock: Ombudsman won’t act until OIC concludes
    ↓
    Public Archive (unseenbeings.org)
  • All refusals, delays, contradictions documented as record

📖 Glossary of Key Terms

Section titled “📖 Glossary of Key Terms”
  • FOI (Freedom of Information) – Legal right to request government documents.
  • Section 26 – Official refusal: agency claims “no documents exist.”
  • IR (Internal Review) – Second look by the same agency when you challenge a decision.
  • ER (External Review) – Escalation to the Information Commissioner (OIC). Checks only if a “reasonable search” was done.
  • OIC (Office of the Information Commissioner) – Handles ER, but operates with backlog and no transparent triage rules.
  • Ombudsman – Investigates maladministration, but usually only after OIC finishes → procedural loop.
  • OAG (Office of the Auditor General) – Audits government operations, but rarely intervenes in live FOI disputes.
  • DPIRD (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) – WA government department responsible for animal welfare enforcement.
  • AWAC (Animal Welfare Advisory Committee) – Statutory committee meant to advise on animal welfare policy and oversight; however, in practice provides no evidence of supervising DI enforcement.
  • Vacuum – A structural gap: missing results, missing processes, or missing accountability.
  • Deadlock – Oversight bodies blocking each other; no action moves forward.

💬 Want to understand the method behind this archive? Read the About page