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Right to Know Day 28 September- great to see traffic on the twitter feeds including plenty from Australia at #RighttoKnow While observance has been trending in the right direction in recent years, its another step in the right direction given Right to Know Day often passed virtually unnoticed here. Something positive from the highest levels of government on the importance of the right to know would be a welcome development but alas.. So too, with three ministers in New York last week, an Australian presence at the Fifth Anniversary Celebration of the Open Government Partnership would have indicated strong interest and commitment as well. Alas again.... Further rain amid the sunshine:  The Center for Law and Democracy in Toronto and Access Info Europe used the occasion to publish an updated Global Right to Information Rating, analysing the quality of the world's access to information laws. The Australian legislative framework (the Federal Freedom of Information Act) comes in 56 of...

Australia’s State and Commonwealth Information Commissioners have joined together to promote their commitment to the importance of Open Government and the right to access government-held information and data on International Right to Know Day, 28 September 2016. The right to information and our ongoing commitment to Open Government is a cornerstone of modern democratic society. Right to Know Day is an opportunity to encourage the public sector and the community at large to think about exploring the possibilities of Open Government. When done well it increases access to information and data which results in better and more responsive services to the community, as well as increased accountability and the promotion of public participation in government decision-making. We are pleased to come together to promote the importance of this message and we invite all members of the Australian community to join us in celebrating Right to Know Day on 28 September 2016. Co-signed by...

Rick Snell , University of Tasmania makes a welcome return to the commentariat  "Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has lost a two-year bid to keep the summaries of meetings in his ministerial diary from being considered for release under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act . A Federal Court judge in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and a full Federal Court bench decided the reasons advanced on Brandis’ behalf to not process a Freedom of Information (FOI) request were less than persuasive. Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who originally filed the FOI request, called the decision “a victory for transparency and accountability” and has hailed the case as a landmark. Yet as a “landmark” decision, it speaks more forcefully to how both the Abbott and Turnbull governments have allowed the Commonwealth FOI Act to fall into a state of neglect. The Brandis decision laid bare the inadequate and flimsy nature of the exemption claims made by the Attorney-General...