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Series Expose: How to orchestrate a Section 110 Application under the GIPA Act 2009
Episode 9: 13.03.2026
Multiple Agencies Ignore 400-Year-Old Legal Principle, Successfully Setting New Caselaw Precedent Providing a Roadmap for NSW Government Agencies to Target and Corale Groups of People. And the Information Commissioner is still nowhere to be seen.
Episode 9: 13.03.2026
Multiple Agencies Ignore 400-Year-Old Legal Principle, Successfully Setting New Caselaw Precedent Providing a Roadmap for NSW Government Agencies to Target and Corale Groups of People. And the Information Commissioner is still nowhere to be seen.
Almost a year to the day, the decision is out and it’s not good for the NSW public seeking access to justice, democracy, and its beneficial legislation freely given by the NSW Parliament.
The Tribunal advertises it usually takes a few months to form its decisions, but the parties in this case are readily accustomed to much longer than that, sometimes almost (2) two years.
The three-strong gang of NSW government agencies on this momentous occasion had dragged copious records into the proceedings dating back from 2011 to achieve their goal, with no apparent limit on the amount of public monies to be thrown at the self-represented Respondents.
That’s right; (15) fifteen years of records. The public is now fully aware agencies stockpile dossiers on each and every one of them ensuring long memories and deeply entrenched resentments will eventually produce good fruit.
And so it did on this occasion.
The Applicants in this matter are:• Department of Communities & Justice• Port Stephens Council• Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council
The Respondents in this matter are:• Telina Webb• Paul McEwan, Webb’s husband• DraftCom Pty Ltd, McEwan’s company
Analysis of the Tribunal’s Decision shows it is riddled with errors in law, grammatical errors, and errors of fact.
But most importantly the whole decision, one which should see the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal and the Applicants hang their heads in total shame and disgrace, is in contradiction of a (400) four-hundred year old legal principle known as Res Judicata.
It’s a legal principle which makes clear when a matter has been finalised and is no longer appealable, it is finished and cannot be relitigated. This means it is no longer able to be pursued. It’s over. Res Judicata is a total bar to any further claim.A total bar. There is no room for discretion.
The Applicants included rogue agency Port Stephens Council, an agency repeatedly exposed for corruption, systemic abuse of the public’s beneficial legislation, making false and misleading statements to the Tribunal and the NSW Information & Privacy Commissioners, and concealing open access information on a false claim of a risk of harm; Port Stephens Council used the ‘cause harm’ clause of the legislation over (270) two hundred and seventy times against these same Respondents in ongoing efforts to keep documents out of the public domain.
This agency can stake its claim it has single-handedly re-written how agencies respond to valid requests for access to government information.
At the helm of Port Stephens Council is Tony Leslie Wickham; not it’s not the puppet General Manager Tim Crosdale. Wickham sits in multiple conflicting positions including:• Executive Officer• Governance Manager / Corporate Policeman• Senior Privacy Officer• Senior Right to Information Officer• Complaints Handling Officer• Code of Conduct Coordinator• Joint Custodian of Secondary Employment
Wickham has repeatedly failed to get the prized Golden GIPA Chalice for a Section 110 Order against Webb since 2017.
Webb has repeatedly beat him as a self-represented Respondent.
But this time, he joined forces with (2) two other agencies and got his dreamed-of Order by default. By default because Port Stephens Council did not have the prerequisite number of (3) three claimed unmeritorious access applications to validate the Section 110 Application.
The only problem is, he and his fellow conspirators, included those previous unsuccessful and finalised matters as part of their evidence.
That’s a huge NO-NO.
Any solicitor worth a pinch of salt knows about Res Judicata.
As did Dr Justin Cahill of Dept of Communities and Justice, the legal representative.
What a disgrace he is!
Maria Timothy of Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council was just along for the show. This case was likely the biggest thing she’s been involved in, her brief moment in the sun. Timothy was angry her earlier threats of defamation against Webb had miserably failed. Like Port Stephens Council, Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council did not have the prerequisite number of (3) three claimed unmeritorious access applications to validate the Section 110 Application.
Both of these (2) two jumped in with Dept of Communities of Justice, no doubt Cahill was not confident the Section 110 Application would get over the line on its own.
It’s also important to note that despite the excessive number of boxes of documents filed by the Applicants, there was not one piece of evidence proving or supporting the claim of a single unmeritorious access application.
Let’s just say that again.
Not a single piece of crucial, relevant evidence.
But they did include everything else they could lay their hands on.
They also went through records held by the Australian Investment Securities Commission, ASIC, downloading everything they could about McEwan’s company DraftCom Pty Ltd.
In the midst of it all there was no sign of the NSW Information Commissioner, IPC, the regulatory body for the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, good old GIPA.
NCAT has confirmed any GIPA matter is conveyed to the IPC to make provision for her “Right to Appear” at proceedings under Section 104.
She has the right.
But there’s no obligation or responsibility. Typical government department.
Enquiries with the IPC in the past concerning her ‘appearance’ or rather lack of at Webb’s earlier Section 110 proceedings, returned a legal professional privilege insulation to reveal why she chooses one case over another.
So someone in the IPC has actually been giving the Commissioner legal advice to abandon the public?! WOW! That’s a whole new level of bias!
Webb is the only individual pursued under Section 110 to be so abandoned. The Commissioner has ‘appeared’ at all other cases.
But back to the story.
Today’s decision shows the NCAT has no regard for legal principles or actual evidence, akin to the agencies seeking its favour.
And let’s not forget the IPC didn’t give a legislative hoot either.
They all knew and they did absolutely nothing and let the proceedings just sail along to fruition to the detriment of a self-represented party they hoped would be completely unaware, and at great financial cost to the public.
Res Judicata has been written about and re-written about across the globe by reputable sources for decades. It has been referenced and relied upon for centuries. Yes centuries.
It has been highlighted by the Council of Australasian Tribunals, of which NCAT is a member; with NCAT President the Honourable Lea Armstrong sitting as a key national panel member.
It has been highlighted by the International Bar Association; an organisation currently in the process of forming a global standard concerning it.
NCAT itself has acknowledged Res Judicata in separate proceedings, so there can be no claim of ignorance by those in decision-making positions.
“I’m not surprised at all by this, particularly when I recall certain dialogue between Cahill and the presiding member in this case. These public servants have acted like vultures. They colluded. They are opportunistic, only able to do what they do by the good financial graces of the public they are in place to serve. They do absolutely nothing by their own means or resources. Not one of them has ever stood alone against me or my family. Not one. They are complete cowards. Today’s decision shows the Tribunal’s indisputable bias towards its sister agencies, and with no regard for the law, precedent, or legal principle. The public needs to know what to expect when they approach those bar tables naïvely believing they will be treated fairly and that agency personnel will behave honestly. What a total farce. No, I won’t stop telling the truth. And that is precisely why I continue to be targeted. Because I will not stop blowing my whistle as loud as I can,” stated Webb.
“Dept of Communities and Justice is on the record, a Sworn Affidavit in fact, crying poor and under-resourced, directly accusing me of draining government resources; yet they spent over $300.000.00 just getting the first round submissions filed in this one case?! Obviously it is much more important to get an order like this across the line then attend to all the alleged outstanding access and privacy applications which are supposedly overdue by at least (6) six months. How can anyone be expected to believe anything from any one of them? And this department, the Open Government Information & Privacy Unit (OGIPU) instructing Cahill directly, is currently under the authority of an ex-NSW Police Superintendent who still sees herself in a blue uniform able to do whatever she likes with no accountability whatsoever. This case wreaks of corruption and collusion,” stated Webb.
“Yes, I’m appealing. I am compelled to. I have no choice. This is a case of significant public interest. Unchallenged, a collective Section 110 Application such as this one could be made against any group or organisation. This is just another unwarranted public flogging in the marketplace for all the world to see. NCAT really does need to get its act together and start operating as a 21st Century democratic judicial forum and not some medieval no-holds-barred inquisition.”
The decision is available here.
Contact:
Jodie Cobbin, Jodie.cobbin@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Justin Cahill, justin.cahill@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Michael McIntosh, Michael.mcintosh@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Jonathan Franklin, Jonathan.franklin@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Tony Wickham, tony.wickham@portstephens.nsw.gov.au
Lisa Marshall, lisa.marshall@portstephens.nsw.gov.au
Maria Timothy, maria.timothy@goulburn.nsw.gov.au
The Tribunal advertises it usually takes a few months to form its decisions, but the parties in this case are readily accustomed to much longer than that, sometimes almost (2) two years.
The three-strong gang of NSW government agencies on this momentous occasion had dragged copious records into the proceedings dating back from 2011 to achieve their goal, with no apparent limit on the amount of public monies to be thrown at the self-represented Respondents.
That’s right; (15) fifteen years of records. The public is now fully aware agencies stockpile dossiers on each and every one of them ensuring long memories and deeply entrenched resentments will eventually produce good fruit.
And so it did on this occasion.
The Applicants in this matter are:• Department of Communities & Justice• Port Stephens Council• Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council
The Respondents in this matter are:• Telina Webb• Paul McEwan, Webb’s husband• DraftCom Pty Ltd, McEwan’s company
Analysis of the Tribunal’s Decision shows it is riddled with errors in law, grammatical errors, and errors of fact.
But most importantly the whole decision, one which should see the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal and the Applicants hang their heads in total shame and disgrace, is in contradiction of a (400) four-hundred year old legal principle known as Res Judicata.
It’s a legal principle which makes clear when a matter has been finalised and is no longer appealable, it is finished and cannot be relitigated. This means it is no longer able to be pursued. It’s over. Res Judicata is a total bar to any further claim.A total bar. There is no room for discretion.
The Applicants included rogue agency Port Stephens Council, an agency repeatedly exposed for corruption, systemic abuse of the public’s beneficial legislation, making false and misleading statements to the Tribunal and the NSW Information & Privacy Commissioners, and concealing open access information on a false claim of a risk of harm; Port Stephens Council used the ‘cause harm’ clause of the legislation over (270) two hundred and seventy times against these same Respondents in ongoing efforts to keep documents out of the public domain.
This agency can stake its claim it has single-handedly re-written how agencies respond to valid requests for access to government information.
At the helm of Port Stephens Council is Tony Leslie Wickham; not it’s not the puppet General Manager Tim Crosdale. Wickham sits in multiple conflicting positions including:• Executive Officer• Governance Manager / Corporate Policeman• Senior Privacy Officer• Senior Right to Information Officer• Complaints Handling Officer• Code of Conduct Coordinator• Joint Custodian of Secondary Employment
Wickham has repeatedly failed to get the prized Golden GIPA Chalice for a Section 110 Order against Webb since 2017.
Webb has repeatedly beat him as a self-represented Respondent.
But this time, he joined forces with (2) two other agencies and got his dreamed-of Order by default. By default because Port Stephens Council did not have the prerequisite number of (3) three claimed unmeritorious access applications to validate the Section 110 Application.
The only problem is, he and his fellow conspirators, included those previous unsuccessful and finalised matters as part of their evidence.
That’s a huge NO-NO.
Any solicitor worth a pinch of salt knows about Res Judicata.
As did Dr Justin Cahill of Dept of Communities and Justice, the legal representative.
What a disgrace he is!
Maria Timothy of Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council was just along for the show. This case was likely the biggest thing she’s been involved in, her brief moment in the sun. Timothy was angry her earlier threats of defamation against Webb had miserably failed. Like Port Stephens Council, Goulburn-Mulwaree Shire Council did not have the prerequisite number of (3) three claimed unmeritorious access applications to validate the Section 110 Application.
Both of these (2) two jumped in with Dept of Communities of Justice, no doubt Cahill was not confident the Section 110 Application would get over the line on its own.
It’s also important to note that despite the excessive number of boxes of documents filed by the Applicants, there was not one piece of evidence proving or supporting the claim of a single unmeritorious access application.
Let’s just say that again.
Not a single piece of crucial, relevant evidence.
But they did include everything else they could lay their hands on.
They also went through records held by the Australian Investment Securities Commission, ASIC, downloading everything they could about McEwan’s company DraftCom Pty Ltd.
In the midst of it all there was no sign of the NSW Information Commissioner, IPC, the regulatory body for the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, good old GIPA.
NCAT has confirmed any GIPA matter is conveyed to the IPC to make provision for her “Right to Appear” at proceedings under Section 104.
She has the right.
But there’s no obligation or responsibility. Typical government department.
Enquiries with the IPC in the past concerning her ‘appearance’ or rather lack of at Webb’s earlier Section 110 proceedings, returned a legal professional privilege insulation to reveal why she chooses one case over another.
So someone in the IPC has actually been giving the Commissioner legal advice to abandon the public?! WOW! That’s a whole new level of bias!
Webb is the only individual pursued under Section 110 to be so abandoned. The Commissioner has ‘appeared’ at all other cases.
But back to the story.
Today’s decision shows the NCAT has no regard for legal principles or actual evidence, akin to the agencies seeking its favour.
And let’s not forget the IPC didn’t give a legislative hoot either.
They all knew and they did absolutely nothing and let the proceedings just sail along to fruition to the detriment of a self-represented party they hoped would be completely unaware, and at great financial cost to the public.
Res Judicata has been written about and re-written about across the globe by reputable sources for decades. It has been referenced and relied upon for centuries. Yes centuries.
It has been highlighted by the Council of Australasian Tribunals, of which NCAT is a member; with NCAT President the Honourable Lea Armstrong sitting as a key national panel member.
It has been highlighted by the International Bar Association; an organisation currently in the process of forming a global standard concerning it.
NCAT itself has acknowledged Res Judicata in separate proceedings, so there can be no claim of ignorance by those in decision-making positions.
“I’m not surprised at all by this, particularly when I recall certain dialogue between Cahill and the presiding member in this case. These public servants have acted like vultures. They colluded. They are opportunistic, only able to do what they do by the good financial graces of the public they are in place to serve. They do absolutely nothing by their own means or resources. Not one of them has ever stood alone against me or my family. Not one. They are complete cowards. Today’s decision shows the Tribunal’s indisputable bias towards its sister agencies, and with no regard for the law, precedent, or legal principle. The public needs to know what to expect when they approach those bar tables naïvely believing they will be treated fairly and that agency personnel will behave honestly. What a total farce. No, I won’t stop telling the truth. And that is precisely why I continue to be targeted. Because I will not stop blowing my whistle as loud as I can,” stated Webb.
“Dept of Communities and Justice is on the record, a Sworn Affidavit in fact, crying poor and under-resourced, directly accusing me of draining government resources; yet they spent over $300.000.00 just getting the first round submissions filed in this one case?! Obviously it is much more important to get an order like this across the line then attend to all the alleged outstanding access and privacy applications which are supposedly overdue by at least (6) six months. How can anyone be expected to believe anything from any one of them? And this department, the Open Government Information & Privacy Unit (OGIPU) instructing Cahill directly, is currently under the authority of an ex-NSW Police Superintendent who still sees herself in a blue uniform able to do whatever she likes with no accountability whatsoever. This case wreaks of corruption and collusion,” stated Webb.
“Yes, I’m appealing. I am compelled to. I have no choice. This is a case of significant public interest. Unchallenged, a collective Section 110 Application such as this one could be made against any group or organisation. This is just another unwarranted public flogging in the marketplace for all the world to see. NCAT really does need to get its act together and start operating as a 21st Century democratic judicial forum and not some medieval no-holds-barred inquisition.”
The decision is available here.
Contact:
Jodie Cobbin, Jodie.cobbin@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Justin Cahill, justin.cahill@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Michael McIntosh, Michael.mcintosh@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Jonathan Franklin, Jonathan.franklin@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Tony Wickham, tony.wickham@portstephens.nsw.gov.au
Lisa Marshall, lisa.marshall@portstephens.nsw.gov.au
Maria Timothy, maria.timothy@goulburn.nsw.gov.au
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