Exclusive: PM’s office refused Freedom of Information request after Joyce said he would be ‘happy’ to release messages

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

The “awful lot” of text message reports Barnaby Joyce sent Scott Morrison as drought envoy will remain secret, with the prime minister’s office rejecting a freedom of information request to release the documents.

The PMO refused a request for “any correspondence, including text messages and Whatsapp messages” between Joyce and Morrison “regarding his work as drought envoy” by claiming it “would substantially and unreasonably interfere with the prime minister’s functions”.

Joyce said publicly he had sent his report via text message to the prime minister’s phone and that he would be “happy” to release the messages, but it was not his call.

Barnaby Joyce says he is 'sick of the government being in my life' in Christmas Eve video Read more

In rejecting the request for the reports, the FOI officer said it was the request for reports on Morrison’s phone which was the issue.

“The prime minister is the head of the national government and your request presents a significant challenge to the day-to-day execution of his duties,” the officer told the Guardian.

“Firstly the work of both the prime minister and his staff will be delayed and there are likely to be many unmet demands on their time. Secondly, decisions on which messages will be within the scope of your request are likely to be time consuming. Thirdly, there is a risk of inappropriate or inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information about the prime minister’s activities, discussions or meetings, with any of a large range of people, or on a large range of issues.”

The request was rejected under section 24(1) of the FOI Act, which allows the decision maker to deny the query by judging it to either substantially or unreasonably interfere with a minister’s ability to carry out their duties.

The former deputy prime minister was criticised for not producing a final report after spending nine months in the role as drought envoy, during which he spent less than three weeks on the ground in drought-affected communities outside his electorate, and claimed $675,000 in expenses.

The prime minister’s office confirmed in September a final report was never part of Joyce’s brief. Joyce lashed his critics, claiming he “directly sent” reports to Morrison, including by text message.

“If you say a report is a written segment to the prime minister … then they definitely went to him, I definitely sent them, I sent them by SMS to him and they were read,” Joyce told ABC in September.

“To say that they were not sent or not compiled is incorrect.”

Later that same month, Joyce published a Facebook video defending his work, and displaying what he said were reports to the prime minister’s office.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Barnaby Joyce via Facebook

“You may not believe me, and a lot of people out there in media land don’t, so I am going to read you some of the letters from the prime minister,” Joyce said in the video.

“Dear Mr Joyce, thank you for your letter … and your detailed feedback on the impacts of the drought.”

At the time, Joyce said he had no issue with releasing the messages, but it was out of his hands.

“I can’t – it’s for the people who receive the reports to release them, not those who sent them,” he said in September.

“There are about 15 [physical] reports, along with another three sent in direct and deliberate texts to the prime minister.

“These weren’t short ‘G’day, how you going?’ text messages. They were 1,500 words long, spelling out this is exactly what’s happening and what needs to happen.”

First elected to government in 2005, Joyce reached the office of deputy prime minister, before being forced to resign and take up a seat on the backbench after his personal life began impacting his role. In a video released on social media, Joyce recently bemoaned he was “sick of the government being in my life”.

Joyce – who was one of the chief wreckers of Labor’s carbon charge policy, declaring it would lead to the “$100 lamb roast” – filmed himself throwing feed on his cattle, and urging people to respect God or risk getting “nailed”.

What did Barnaby Joyce achieve as drought envoy? – Full Story podcast Read more

“Now you don’t have to convince me the climate is not changing, it is changing,” Joyce said in the video, which was released on his Twitter account before the Christmas break.

“My problem has always been whether you believe new taxes are going to change it back.”

Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) Merry Christmas pic.twitter.com/QGYPv51pTN

“I just don’t want the government any more in my life, I am sick of the government being in my life.

“… There’s a higher authority that’s beyond our comprehension – right up there in the sky. And unless we understand that that’s got to be respected, then we’re just fools. We’re going to get nailed.”

Morrison has recently made a point of acknowledging the link between climate change and worsening drought and bushfire seasons, but has ruled out any changes to Australia’s emissions reduction policy under his government, despite recent criticism from international bodies.