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Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet  If you haven't so far, look at the published material , subscribe to the OGP Au mailing list for updates and news or follow the OGP Au RSS feed .  The department is interested in feedback by 11 December on the vision and framework  (Stage 1 Blog post ) and on the draft Background material. Tweet to #ogpau. Information sessions are scheduled in the week of 14-18 December in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.The Canberra session will be broadcast live for online participation and video recordings of sessions will made available online where possible in the week following. The information sessions are for citizens and organisations interested in understanding and potentially contributing to the process of creating Australia’s first 2-year OGP National Action Plan. The sessions will provide a background on the Open Government Partnership, what Australia must do to fulfil its membership requirements, and how the community can w...

Debate in the Senate on Senator Ludwig's Private Member's Bill the Freedom of Information Amendment (Requests and Reasons) Bill 2015 resumed for an hour last Thursday and the bill is in the list again for 3 December.  Speakers didn't add much to what was said in June , except that Senator Xenophon was the first cross bencher to speak in support.  Government senators spoke in opposition to the bill so it won't get far in the House even if Labor, The Greens and six of eight cross benchers manage to get it through the Senate.  Senator Seselja and Liberal and National Party speakers rolled out this sort of stuff before getting into the detail I, along with the coalition government, support the Freedom of Information Act and support transparency in government. It is one of our country's greatest strengths that we ensure the decisions of government are put under scrutiny and, where possible, are out in the open. This government has a strong record over the last two ye...

When Prime Minister Turnbull catches breath after the current round of international travel, and following the announcement by his department in his absence that Australia recommits to the Open Government Partnership, let's hope for public remarks in tune with those of President Obama in answering a question (see below) at a town hall gathering of young people in Malaysia on Friday. The PM needs to invest more than a moment to boost visibility of this decision and the related consultation on a national action plan announced last week. The announcement has received attention in social media, on some government websites and in Delimiter , Crikey , The Mandarin and Eureka Street but Fairfax, News and other mainstream media are yet to find a story in this.   The Department gave itself until 11 December to spread awareness during the first of four stages in the development of a national action plan. If that timetable sticks, there's a need to get a wriggle on and get the boss on ...

Names of public servants carrying out usual functions- in the usual case not exempt. Signatures of public servants-in the usual case exempt: unreasonable disclosure of personal information and on balance contrary to the public interest. Initials of public servants and police officers? Although it wasn't a major issue in the matter Acting Australian Information Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim in ‘HJ’ and Australian Federal Police [2015] AICmr 71 (6 November 2015) rejected argument that disclosure of the initials of officers appearing in a document would be unreasonable. The AFP argued the potential for identity fraud or forgery, and the fact that the author of the initials did not expect the material to be released under the FOI Act. The question of whether signatures of public servants are exempt under s 47F is an increasingly common theme in IC reviews. The Guidelines note at [6.140]: Where public servants’ personal information is included in a document because of their usual dutie...

You can't imagine that the Abbott government initiated attempt, still ongoing after 18 months, to close out the Office of Australian Commissioner can stand for long in the Turnbull government's name as it commits to the Open Government Partnership.   There are no bragging rights in that context for shutting down the independent advocate and watchdog for open government. Particularly when listing establishment of the office as a positive, a point picked up in Crikey.com today: Australia commits to open government, sort of . More than two years after the former Labor government said it was going to join the Open Government Partnership, the Turnbull government has begun the process of finalising our membership. The OGP is a group of, so far, 69 countries that all agree to be more open, accountable and responsive to their citizens. To be a member you have to go through a two-year action plan. Australia’s plan will be drafted, with public consultation, over the next few months, ahea...

To join the OGP, countries must commit to uphold the principles of open and transparent government by endorsing the Open Government Declaration (below).  Through endorsing this Declaration, countries commit to “foster a global culture of open government that empowers and delivers for citizens, and advances the ideals of open and participatory 21st century government.” Australia is required to send a letter endorsing the Declaration with the final approved national action plan.   OPEN GOVERNMENT DECLARATION September 2011 As members of the Open Government Partnership, committed to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance: We acknowledge that people all around the world are demanding more openness in government. They are calling for greater civic participation in public affairs, and seeking ways to make their governme...

Drum roll please:   Open Government Partnership: Public consultation for the Australian Government’s National Action Plan now open Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Release date: 17th November 2015 The Australian Government has committed to joining the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a voluntary, global initiative that promotes transparency, empowers citizens, fights corruption, and harnesses new technologies to strengthen governance. In line with this commitment a public consultation process commenced on 17 November 2015 to inform the drafting of the Australian Government’s National Action Plan as part of joining the OGP. Members of the public are invited to contribute ideas and provide feedback on the framework for the Action Plan. The Action Plan is due to be submitted to the OGP Steering Committee by July 2016. More information about the consultation phase and how to contribute can be found by visiting Open Government Partnership – Australia . The OGP wa...

  From the G20 Leaders Communique, Turkey 15-16 November: 16.In support of our growth and resilience agenda, we remain committed to building a global culture of intolerance towards corruption through effectively implementing the 2015-2016 G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan . We endorse the G20 High-Level Principles on Integrity and Transparency in the Private Sector which will help our companies comply with global standards on ethics and anti-corruption. Ensuring the integrity and transparency of our public sectors is essential. In this regard, we endorse the G20 Anti-Corruption Open Data Principles and the G20 Principles for Promoting Integrity in Public Procurement, and we welcome the ongoing work on asset disclosure frameworks. We will further work to strengthen international cooperation, including where appropriate and consistent with domestic legal systems, on civil and administrative procedures, as an important tool to effectively combat bribery and to support asset recovery and...

Three weeks of international visits and meetings between 12 November and 1 December will see Prime Minister Turnbull engage with many leaders who attach importance to improving democratic practices, and who back this up with a commitment to the Open Government Partnership.  The OGP links close to 70 countries in "a multi- stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, accountability and responsiveness to citizens. OGP brings together government and civil society champions of reform who recognize that governments are much more likely to be effective and credible if they open their doors to public input and oversight. " Sounds right up the Turnbull government alley given the Prime Minister's commitment to open consultative government and his ambition that Australia "should aim to become the world's leading digital economy." T h e PM may not need much help in translating th ese enthusiasms into something to say or ascribe t...

In the House of Representatives yesterday Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, ALP) moved: That this House: (1) expresses concern at the culture of secrecy prevalent in the Government and the serious undermining of the core principles enshrined in the freedom of information legislation; (2) notes the Government has: (a) defunded the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) despite failing to pass its legislation to abolish the office; and (b) failed to advance Australia's application for the Open Government Partnership (OGP); and (3) calls on the Government to abandon its attack on the OAIC and provide it with proper funding, and recommit to joining the OGP. The motion didn't get far in the 10 minutes allocated before debate was adjourned with Mactiernan and L abor Party colleague Graham Perrett the only speakers. Could the lack of interest or appetite on government benches to contest the argument suggest a decision not to waste time defending the indefensible while re...

Markus Mannheim in The Canberra Times recently drew attention to the Freedom of Information bill drafted by Shane Rattenbury, the sole Greens MLA in the ACT Labor-led government.  Mannheim was right to suggest passage of the bill would make the territory the most transparent jurisdiction in Australia. The bill in its current form is not available and is still subject to negotiation with the Labor Party, but Mr Rattenbury tweeted that it is the draft tabled for consultation over 18 months ago with a few changes. See my comments in February 2014 with a link to the bill as it stood at that time. Now years in the making, can the bill get across the line?   @smbounds @MarkusMannheim Exposure draft on ACT Leg Reg at https://t.co/qaLhHh0fey Few changes since but basically same. — Shane Rattenbury (@ShaneRattenbury) October 27, 2015