Rosie Williams

Rosie is a former journalist who began composing music during the lockdowns. Rosie records trumpet & makes her scores free at

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

This Trumpet Concerto Has Never Been Recorded Before! https://t.co/Py6BxiIUdC

[crunchyrugger @crunchyrugger]

having dinner at a hotel bar the other night struck up a conversation with a mid-level United Healthcare exec. he told me he puts over $300,000 a year on his company credit card just for entertaining clients. In case you’re wondering why you can’t afford health insurance

[news.com.au @newscomauHQ]

Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has issued an ominous warning after it was announced that Andrew Abdo would be the new Tennis Australia CEO.

[CAMERONWILSON @cameronwilson]

Australia has welcomed a call from Anthropic to plan to slow down or even freeze AI development if the technology starts getting out of control.

Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton says "the pace of progress must not outstrip understanding or undermine safety across society"

[Sam Connor @criprights]

The internal FOI training materials - specifically a video transcript and accompanying presentation slides - detail how NDIA staff are instructed to use a mechanism called "grouping requests" to issue Practical Refusals under Section 24AA of the FOI Act.

Here are the specific details on how this tactic is taught and applied:
The Regulatory Loophole: The training relies on section 3.121 of the FOI Guidelines, which states that an agency or minister may treat two or more separate FOI requests as a single request if they relate to the same document(s) or if the subject matter is substantially the same. By combining the requests, the agency can combine the estimated "work effort" required to process them, pushing the workload over the threshold of what constitutes a "substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources".

The trainer explicitly teaches staff how to use this rule to stop individuals from circumventing the system. For example, if an applicant's request for a 900-page report is rejected because it is "too large to process", the applicant might try to "split things up" by submitting two separate requests: one for pages 1–500, and another for pages 501–900. Staff are instructed to "just group them and still deal with them as a practical refusal" to reject them again.

The training highlights how to use this rule to shut down multiple requests from completely different applicants. The trainer notes that when a "particular media issue" occurs, it can trigger a flood of FOI access requests from the public. Rather than processing these requests, the agency groups them together to legally refuse them all.

During the recorded training session, the instructor recounts a real example from "a year or so ago" where the NDIA received 30 to 40 separate FOI requests seeking "pretty much the same documents within a very short window of time" due to a specific issue. The trainer confirms to staff that the agency successfully "grouped those requests and dealt with them as one" to effectively refuse them.

The training meticulously outlines how staff should calculate the work effort for these grouped requests. By tallying the estimated minutes it would take to review each page, redact information, consult with third parties, and write the decision letters for the grouped requests, staff are able to mathematically justify that processing the documents would sacrifice other agency operations, thus allowing them to issue a Practical Refusal Notice (PRN).

[Sam Connor @criprights]

They've just uploaded, because forced to, the NDIA disclosure log files.

Internal FOI training transcripts reveal staff being trained on how to use "Practical Refusals" to legally reject requests.

Shockingly, the training advises that if the agency receives multiple requests for the same document (e.g., "30 applicants seeking access to the same 500 page document"), staff can group them together as a single request so that the combined workload legally constitutes a "substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources," allowing the agency to refuse them altogether.

So that's fun and cool. FOI 25.26-2149 - Disclosure Log - Documents.pdf

[LambDressedAsMutton @RaukawaDiver]

@TaxpayersUnion @Info_Aus You really should be grappling with this….about to bite the poaka and his friend.

[New Zealand Taxpayers' Union @TaxpayersUnion]

@Info_Aus If you figure it out, let us know! We are still grappling with it...

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

That's a good point. The churches have billions (each).

[elle la bombe @dowhatonemustdo]

This makes me sick they’re looking for cash in this bleak cold day here in Vic, with Vinnies making money from using Work for the Dole and/or mutual obligations people in their stores, many whom are hanging on by a thread themselves couch surfing, living in cars etc @ArtistAffame

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

Will I ever understand how governments spend so much money building websites? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[New Zealand Taxpayers' Union @TaxpayersUnion]

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 $𝟕.𝟕 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Christchurch City Council after The Press revealed the Council’s MyChristchurch “digital platform” has cost ratepayers $7.7 million, despite councillors initially being led to believe they were funding an app.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

“Christchurch ratepayers have forked out $7.7 million and ended up with a website. If elected representatives did not know what they were approving, ratepayers deserve to know why.”

“The Council can dress it up as a ‘digital platform’, but that does not explain how this project has cost the equivalent of 1,962 households' worth of rates. At a time when rates are soaring, every dollar blown on bloated IT projects is a dollar not going to core services.”

“This fiasco shows exactly why local government reform is needed. Elected councillors are meant to be in charge, but too often management controls the information and leaves them playing catch-up.”

“Council officials need to come clean on where the money went, why councillors were left in the dark about what was being delivered, and how a website ended up costing ratepayers millions.”

“Ratepayers need a system that gives councillors the power to properly scrutinise spending and stop bureaucrats pulling the wool over the eyes of the people elected to hold them accountable.”

[ForestBreeze @Orangepoppy2000]

We have started an Australian-first investigation into the use and regulation of crowd control weapons by police. Make a tax deductible donation for democracy today. Standing up for right to protest through advocacy and strategic litigation. And winning. https://t.co/JBqkWmEFmO

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

If these people were displaced by conflict, they'd at least have a refugee camp https://t.co/OgfPDCJDBO

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

@AmyRemeikis What's worse, is that my fav 2 min noodles has gone missing from both my local local Woolies.

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

This sucks https://t.co/EGHMNtIuRa

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

If you play the piano- 3 free booklets of original piano solos: Easy, intermediate & challenging! https://t.co/EFG56706Ol

[Tenants' Union of NSW @TUNSW]

We made this kit because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are often renters, but are also often under-supported. This kit aims to provide clear, practical, and culturally-informed information about renting laws in NSW, check it out here: https://t.co/9HsHNwxb2t

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

Interesting thoughts on politics https://t.co/mKDsbPQYTQ

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

Why does the govt pay people for what they are not doing yet target income support recipients as if they are career criminals?

[jeremy poxon @JeremyPoxon]

"Will the new model still allow providers to claim outcome payments for employment that the job seeker found independently?"

"We would see job outcome payments continuing to be a feature"

fraud, rorting, and exploitation of the poor WILL and MUST continue!

[The Australian @australian]

Tabcorp chief Gillon McLachlan’s retail betting strategy has backfired as Austrac targets it over suspected money laundering. And that’s far from the only problem.

[Rosie Williams @Info_Aus]

Caught up with this week's #4Corners last night. It is horrifying to watch male police officers behaving like thugs with seemingly no boundaries at all and no shame. Glad those 2 got criminal sentences. Doesn't say much for police training.

[Sherele Moody (Femicide Researcher) 🌈 @ShereleMoody]

He forced her to inhale toxic fumes. He placed a rope around her neck, He asphyxiated her. He hung her body in the garage. He planted a photograph and a letter nearby. He told authorities and her loved ones, she ended her own life. Police failed to investigate her death as a homicide.
STORY: https://t.co/T66EtHTrvL