Ex-Top NSW Cop Admits to Using Government Resources to
Breach the Public’s Privacy at Non-Governmental Meeting, 09.10.2023
The NSW Department of Communities & Justice’ Director, Open Government Information & Privacy (OGIP) Unit Ms Jodie Cobbin, has admitted under oath during cross-examination that she used a workplace laptop during work hours to compile a management strategy for dealing with problematic members of the public, which she thereafter shared at a public meeting.
Ms Cobbin is an ex-NSW Police Officer who rose to the rank of Superintendent however her career encompassed prosecutions and covert operations such as phone tapping.
The cross-examination took place during an Administrative Review of a request for information, lodged with Justice by Telina Webb.
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"New Top Cop for Singleton"
Image courtesy Singleton Argus' Paul Maguire, 22nd November 2012
That review was before the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal, NCAT, the result of Justice providing the document to Ms Webb in heavily redacted form.
Ms Cobbin’s management strategy was incorporated within a Powerpoint Presentation utilising a departmental template with logo, with Ms Cobbin’s name and position on the front slide.
Ms Cobbin made the presentation to a group of individuals who identify as the NSW Right to Information & Privacy Practitioners Network (NIPPN), a group which insists it is non-governmental despite the only order of business being governmental as the title suggests. "It's clear this group gathering together during government business hours is not meeting to share craft or gardening ideas," stated Ms Webb.
Ms Webb first became aware of the presentation when she viewed NIPPN Minutes dated 27th March 2019 which were initially published on the internet on the NIPPN Google Website. That website has since been deleted along with all traces of it due to ongoing questions and some warranted public scrutiny, but thankfully all documentation published prior has been saved.
The Minutes did not disclose Ms Cobbin as the presenter however the generic publicly available email address for the OGIP Unit was listed, infoandprivacy@justice.nsw.gov.au, making it clear all enquiries about the presentation were to be directed to her department at first instance.
Ms Cobbin had given her presentation the denegrating title Tale of A Fixated Applicant. She was referring to several Access Applicants concerning the NSW public’s requests for government-held information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, or GIPA, which she identified and singled out in the presentation. In doing so, that is by pointing the finger at these Access Applicants, and strategically guiding her audience comprising the whole of the population of right to information and privacy officers across the state, Ms Cobbin created a moral panic.
One of the issues to be determined by the NCAT was whether or not the requested information was in fact governmental, or if it was considered to be the personal information of Ms Cobbin as she had claimed at one part. There is also the very sensitive issue of the use and publication of the public's personal information, which was also redacted from the presentation. Justice asserted it had not undertaken mandatory third party consultations in relation to that personal information, because it never had any intention of releasing those details, despite doing so at the public meeting.
Representative for Justice Mr Jonathan Ian Franklin conceded there was no contention about the information being governmental, and agreed the Administrative Review had been correctly enlivened by Ms Webb.
The Minutes of the NIPPN Meeting of 27th March 2019 raise serious issues of concern for the general public given the presenter of the Powerpoint presentation confirmed to be Ms Cobbin, is also documented to solicit NIPPN members for the public’s personal information.
There can be no mistaking this action by an ex-NSW Police Officer, seeking information about the public including how they interact with separate third-party agency personnel, whether or not they use social media to express concerns and share information, and information about whether or not strategies are implemented inclusive of engagement of police, replicates police Criminal Investigation Unit Reporting (CIUs) for the NSW COPS System.
It would appear thus far Ms Cobbin has simply transferred her police practices to her administrative role with the Dept of Communities and Justice and forgotten she is no longer a police officer, breaching and encouraging the breaching of the public’s privacy whilst unlawfully using departmental resources to do so.
“This senior beaurocrat evidently still sees herself as a police officer, able to covertly use the public’s information to compile dossiers to be used against them ‘when the time is right’, documented to actually solicit individuals who identify as non-governmental for governmental information; it’s absolutely extraordinary!” stated Ms Webb.
“Ms Cobbin in her capacity as Director of the OGIP Unit, has set herself as a role model to her audience, exemplifying how senior trusted government employees act behind closed doors to the detriment of the public she serves, sending the message that such behaviours as displayed by Justice NSW, are acceptable.”
“I would go so far as to say she actually sees nothing wrong with her conduct, with no consideration whatsoever for the legislation in place to protect the public. This presentation was a strategy to widen the gap between “Them” and “Us”, with the focus on reducing the public’s ability to exercise legally enforceable rights (supposed) to access NSW government information, and reduce the public's privacy rights.”
The public face of Justice NSW viewable on the website www.dcj.nsw.gov.au, makes clear reference to the GIPA Act 2009 and PPIP Act 1998, the public’s legally enforceable right to access NSW government information, and the legislated review rights should Access Applicants not be happy with Justice’ GIPA Decisions. These rights include rights to protection of personal information. Ms Cobbin has been effectively caught red-handed breaching those privacy rights, then redacting the information, and denying third party consultation in order to hide her actions. Ms Cobbin is also denying these members of the public any legal redress for those breaches.
Justice NSW' public face is now evidenced to be completely contradicted with the Director of the OGIP Unit publicly professing she has developed a management strategy, which she has shared with over (460) four hundred and sixty NIPPN Members, making it a state-wide approach. She is using that strategy to supplement recommendations from the NSW Ombudsman and the Work Health & Safety Act, to effectively tighten the net as much as possible.
“Jodie Cobbin is now documented to solicit agencies for the public’s personal information, and details of their respective gipa interactions. She has set herself up as the NSW government’s GIPA Police Officer, ignoring the legislation by formulating a management strategy designed to control the number of Access Applications and the manner in which those applications are processed,” stated Ms Webb.
Under oath at today’s hearing via video link, where Ms Cobbin had previously claimed an inability to attend due to hearing impairments and an unmanageable back injury which saw her looking noticeably in good health, she claimed reliance on Chatham House Rules for her decision and action to breach the public’s privacy, sharing personal information with NIPPN Members.
The current membership of NIPPN includes a number of individuals from private enterprise, people who have had direct access to promote their products and services to agency decision-makers since 2009.
Peddled products and services to NIPPN members have thus far included legislative training, as the Office of the NSW Information & Privacy Commissioner confirms Right to Information & Privacy Officers are not presently regulated, neither is the available training. The group also has direct access to the NCAT, IPC, and Ombudsman, and it is documented to forumate collective strategies for legislative amendment during legislative reviews; why write one submission when you can lodge (57) fifty-seven identical copies under differring letterhead for maximum impact (GIPA Act 2009 Review 2014)?
In August 2022, a Principle Solicitor with the Office of the NSW Crown Solicitor (CSO) Ms Kiri Sue Mattes stated under oath she used the GIPA Training she has formulated for third party agencies as a gateway to secure further legal engagements, disclosing the CSO considers its GIPA Training Manuals and Workbooks to have such significant financial value that to make them readily available to the public would be detrimental to the CSO’s business.
“This group is far more than a Network, it is more like a cartel,” stated Ms Webb. “They all protect each other, and they are breaching the public’s privacy in contradiction of the legislation, relying on Chatham House Rules for impunity, knowing full well what they’re doing is illegal. What makes it even more insulting to the general public is, the group claims they are all volunteers, that they participate in the group at their own will. Yet there is no evidence they are docking their pay while they attend these get-togethers, get-togethers which are evidenced to be financially covered by the IPC itself, and where the public pays wages unknowingly for lavish catering at NSW Parliament House and other high-end function facilities. Every time a document is obtained it is more and more damning. No wonder they want to obstruct access to government information. Incidentally, the NSW Dept of Communities & Justice (Justice NSW) did formally state on 29th August 2023 QUOTE ”The Chatham House Rule is not legally binding and therefore cannot override the requirements of NSW legislation in any circumstances,” UNQUOTE.
“Ms Cobbin today knowingly misled the NCAT, claiming justification for her actions under Chatham House Rules. She used government equipment, in government time, accessed the public’s personal information, and shared that in a public forum without first having sought and obtained lawful consent to do so. She is the Director, Open Government Information & Privacy Unit Dept of Communities and Justice. She knows better, she has no excuse whatsoever. Her title and the departmental branch label are an affront to the trusting public she serves,” stated Ms Webb.
Contact: Jodie CobbinJodie.cobbin@justice.nsw.gov.au
Jonathan Franklin jonathan.franklin@justice.nsw.gov.au
Ms Cobbin’s management strategy was incorporated within a Powerpoint Presentation utilising a departmental template with logo, with Ms Cobbin’s name and position on the front slide.
Ms Cobbin made the presentation to a group of individuals who identify as the NSW Right to Information & Privacy Practitioners Network (NIPPN), a group which insists it is non-governmental despite the only order of business being governmental as the title suggests. "It's clear this group gathering together during government business hours is not meeting to share craft or gardening ideas," stated Ms Webb.
Ms Webb first became aware of the presentation when she viewed NIPPN Minutes dated 27th March 2019 which were initially published on the internet on the NIPPN Google Website. That website has since been deleted along with all traces of it due to ongoing questions and some warranted public scrutiny, but thankfully all documentation published prior has been saved.
The Minutes did not disclose Ms Cobbin as the presenter however the generic publicly available email address for the OGIP Unit was listed, infoandprivacy@justice.nsw.gov.au, making it clear all enquiries about the presentation were to be directed to her department at first instance.
Ms Cobbin had given her presentation the denegrating title Tale of A Fixated Applicant. She was referring to several Access Applicants concerning the NSW public’s requests for government-held information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, or GIPA, which she identified and singled out in the presentation. In doing so, that is by pointing the finger at these Access Applicants, and strategically guiding her audience comprising the whole of the population of right to information and privacy officers across the state, Ms Cobbin created a moral panic.
One of the issues to be determined by the NCAT was whether or not the requested information was in fact governmental, or if it was considered to be the personal information of Ms Cobbin as she had claimed at one part. There is also the very sensitive issue of the use and publication of the public's personal information, which was also redacted from the presentation. Justice asserted it had not undertaken mandatory third party consultations in relation to that personal information, because it never had any intention of releasing those details, despite doing so at the public meeting.
Representative for Justice Mr Jonathan Ian Franklin conceded there was no contention about the information being governmental, and agreed the Administrative Review had been correctly enlivened by Ms Webb.
The Minutes of the NIPPN Meeting of 27th March 2019 raise serious issues of concern for the general public given the presenter of the Powerpoint presentation confirmed to be Ms Cobbin, is also documented to solicit NIPPN members for the public’s personal information.
There can be no mistaking this action by an ex-NSW Police Officer, seeking information about the public including how they interact with separate third-party agency personnel, whether or not they use social media to express concerns and share information, and information about whether or not strategies are implemented inclusive of engagement of police, replicates police Criminal Investigation Unit Reporting (CIUs) for the NSW COPS System.
It would appear thus far Ms Cobbin has simply transferred her police practices to her administrative role with the Dept of Communities and Justice and forgotten she is no longer a police officer, breaching and encouraging the breaching of the public’s privacy whilst unlawfully using departmental resources to do so.
“This senior beaurocrat evidently still sees herself as a police officer, able to covertly use the public’s information to compile dossiers to be used against them ‘when the time is right’, documented to actually solicit individuals who identify as non-governmental for governmental information; it’s absolutely extraordinary!” stated Ms Webb.
“Ms Cobbin in her capacity as Director of the OGIP Unit, has set herself as a role model to her audience, exemplifying how senior trusted government employees act behind closed doors to the detriment of the public she serves, sending the message that such behaviours as displayed by Justice NSW, are acceptable.”
“I would go so far as to say she actually sees nothing wrong with her conduct, with no consideration whatsoever for the legislation in place to protect the public. This presentation was a strategy to widen the gap between “Them” and “Us”, with the focus on reducing the public’s ability to exercise legally enforceable rights (supposed) to access NSW government information, and reduce the public's privacy rights.”
The public face of Justice NSW viewable on the website www.dcj.nsw.gov.au, makes clear reference to the GIPA Act 2009 and PPIP Act 1998, the public’s legally enforceable right to access NSW government information, and the legislated review rights should Access Applicants not be happy with Justice’ GIPA Decisions. These rights include rights to protection of personal information. Ms Cobbin has been effectively caught red-handed breaching those privacy rights, then redacting the information, and denying third party consultation in order to hide her actions. Ms Cobbin is also denying these members of the public any legal redress for those breaches.
Justice NSW' public face is now evidenced to be completely contradicted with the Director of the OGIP Unit publicly professing she has developed a management strategy, which she has shared with over (460) four hundred and sixty NIPPN Members, making it a state-wide approach. She is using that strategy to supplement recommendations from the NSW Ombudsman and the Work Health & Safety Act, to effectively tighten the net as much as possible.
“Jodie Cobbin is now documented to solicit agencies for the public’s personal information, and details of their respective gipa interactions. She has set herself up as the NSW government’s GIPA Police Officer, ignoring the legislation by formulating a management strategy designed to control the number of Access Applications and the manner in which those applications are processed,” stated Ms Webb.
Under oath at today’s hearing via video link, where Ms Cobbin had previously claimed an inability to attend due to hearing impairments and an unmanageable back injury which saw her looking noticeably in good health, she claimed reliance on Chatham House Rules for her decision and action to breach the public’s privacy, sharing personal information with NIPPN Members.
The current membership of NIPPN includes a number of individuals from private enterprise, people who have had direct access to promote their products and services to agency decision-makers since 2009.
Peddled products and services to NIPPN members have thus far included legislative training, as the Office of the NSW Information & Privacy Commissioner confirms Right to Information & Privacy Officers are not presently regulated, neither is the available training. The group also has direct access to the NCAT, IPC, and Ombudsman, and it is documented to forumate collective strategies for legislative amendment during legislative reviews; why write one submission when you can lodge (57) fifty-seven identical copies under differring letterhead for maximum impact (GIPA Act 2009 Review 2014)?
In August 2022, a Principle Solicitor with the Office of the NSW Crown Solicitor (CSO) Ms Kiri Sue Mattes stated under oath she used the GIPA Training she has formulated for third party agencies as a gateway to secure further legal engagements, disclosing the CSO considers its GIPA Training Manuals and Workbooks to have such significant financial value that to make them readily available to the public would be detrimental to the CSO’s business.
“This group is far more than a Network, it is more like a cartel,” stated Ms Webb. “They all protect each other, and they are breaching the public’s privacy in contradiction of the legislation, relying on Chatham House Rules for impunity, knowing full well what they’re doing is illegal. What makes it even more insulting to the general public is, the group claims they are all volunteers, that they participate in the group at their own will. Yet there is no evidence they are docking their pay while they attend these get-togethers, get-togethers which are evidenced to be financially covered by the IPC itself, and where the public pays wages unknowingly for lavish catering at NSW Parliament House and other high-end function facilities. Every time a document is obtained it is more and more damning. No wonder they want to obstruct access to government information. Incidentally, the NSW Dept of Communities & Justice (Justice NSW) did formally state on 29th August 2023 QUOTE ”The Chatham House Rule is not legally binding and therefore cannot override the requirements of NSW legislation in any circumstances,” UNQUOTE.
“Ms Cobbin today knowingly misled the NCAT, claiming justification for her actions under Chatham House Rules. She used government equipment, in government time, accessed the public’s personal information, and shared that in a public forum without first having sought and obtained lawful consent to do so. She is the Director, Open Government Information & Privacy Unit Dept of Communities and Justice. She knows better, she has no excuse whatsoever. Her title and the departmental branch label are an affront to the trusting public she serves,” stated Ms Webb.
Contact: Jodie CobbinJodie.cobbin@justice.nsw.gov.au
Jonathan Franklin jonathan.franklin@justice.nsw.gov.au