faulker03

Its been quite a week so you're excused if you missed the introduction into the Senate of the Freedom of Information Legislation (Improving Access and Transparency) Bill 2018 by Senator Rex Patrick  (Centre Alliance). The senator is among the few who take a serious interest in transparency and accountability, evident in his time as a staffer to former senator Nick Xenophon, and in his own stead since he replaced Xenophon in November last year. Introduction of the bill took one minute of the senate's time but it won't automatically sink without trace. It has been referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 30 November 2018. Thus the opportunity to draw attention and advocate for action from those in government who since the election in 2013 have settled for words if pressed on the subject. While well short of the changes that would be expected if Australia embarked on developing information access laws fit for the 21st...

Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd, who in 2015 labelled FOI 'very pernicious' and showed no appreciation of the role FOI plays in a democratic society, is on the selection advisory committee that will soon report to and recommend to the Attorney General a replacement Australian Information Commissioner. Senate Estimates (pages 51-60) hearings last week on the Office of Australian Information Commissioner covered a lot of ground (more in another post) and revealed the process is in the final stages, interviews are complete and an announcement is expected before the end of the month. In addition to the commissioner, members of the committee are the Secretary of the Attorney General's Department (Chair), Secretary of the Department of Health, and the deputy CEO of the Digital Transformation Agency.  The APSC guidelines are that the APS Commissioner or his representative must be included in a selection committee for recruitment or appointment to a Sen...

The heading on this December 2015 post reflected my views on a column by Jack Waterford in The Canberra Times FOI veteran lets fly with a few wild swings and low blows in which he delivered an assessment of the contributions to open government by former Australian Information Commissioner Professor John McMillan. In my view both unfair and unjustified. Professor Mcmillan subsequently took legal action against Fairfax Media, publishers of the CT. The following statement was appended to the online version of the article and published in the 11 November edition: Professor John McMillan In legal proceedings brought over this article, Professor John McMillan alleged that it constituted an attack on his personal integrity, performance and competence in his roles as former Commonwealth Ombudsman and Australian Information Commissioner. If any reader understood it that way, The Canberra Times unreservedly withdraws any such suggestion and sincerely apologises to Professor McMillan for any hurt...

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...

Victoria's plan to enhance FOI watchdog powers stands in sharp contrast to the Federal Government's tenacity in clinging to its plan to abolish the Office of Australian Information Commissioner one way or the other and in the meantime leaving the office with one acting commissioner instead of the three positions parliament established. Freedom of Information Commissioner Lynne Bertolini issued this Media Statement on Friday that she will step down on 5 September citing the government's intention to  create a new position of Public Access Counsellor.  Farrah Tomazin in The Age suggests other factors may have contributed, and reports Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings providing this general update on reforms: Mr Jennings did not go into details of the review, other than to say the government had identified "significant opportunities to reform the FOI system", improve oversight and make it easier for Victorians to access information. He said the new Off...