The Sunday Times, Perth 11 September 1994

FOI SQUAD TO SIFT CAMPUS FOR PAPERS

       [Photo of slightly disheveled and serious yet smiling DR]

		Dr Rindos . . . hunt for missing papers.

TWELVE top University of WA administrators have been warned
that government freedom of information officers will visit
the campus searching for crucial documents that have
mysteriously disappeared.

The papers are sought by sacked UWA archaeologist Dr David
Rindos who needs them for planned legal actions against
several of the academics.

The academics were alerted to the visit by a memo from UWA
Freedom of Information officer Keith Chambers.

Under the WA Freedom of Information Act, the commission can
seize documents from public agencies, including
universities.

Dr Rindos was sacked last year after two inquiries into
UWA's controversial archaeology department which led to the
demotion of its head, Professor Sandra Bowdler, for
unorthodox management practices and her treatment of
students. 

But the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Fay Gale, then sacked Dr
Rindos, and he is now fighting to clear his name.

Soon afterwards Dr Rindos told the SUNDAY TIMES he had been
victimised by a hard-core, campus feminist group. 

To fight his case he has requisitioned more than 1000
documents from the campus. 

But some documents were denied to him and he claimed that
others, crucial to his case, were missing from files.

"Since receiving Dr Rindos' original request for access to
documents under the FOI Act, I have requested the provision
of documents held by you and your staff which might fall
within the ambit of his request," Mr Chambers' memo said.

"A large amount of that information has been provided in
full or in edited form to him.

"I have also denied him access to some 30 odd documents."

The memo said Dr Rindos had appealed to UWA's registrar
over refusal of access to the documents. 

"Dr Rindos has also identified a series of documents which
have neither been provided to him nor accounted for by me,"
the memo said.

"The next stage of this process will be a visit to the
University by the commissioner's information officers.

"Both officers have the fully delegated authority of the
Information Commissioner."