Good luck to Melbourne City Council in its claim (reported in The Age) that all correspondence from the Chinese Consulate is exempt from disclosure because the Chinese Consulate is immune from Freedom of Information laws under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic immunity.
Hate to break it to our friends from China that anything they have sent to the Council or copies of anything the Council has sent to them isn't automatically exempt under our FOI laws, and to the Council that they bought a pup in accepting the advice of their lawyers who sold them on the exemption claim.
This blog takes an interest in issues associated with Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy legislation in Australia. Information contained on this site is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Follow Peter Timmins on Twitter: @foiguru Follow the open government cause through the Australian Open Government Partnership Network. www.opengovernment.org.au and @opengovau
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