faulker03

It's still up in the air as to who governs - and therefore gets to call most of the shots - and perhaps what the successful major party leader will have to agree to in order to form a government.  Then on an ongoing basis, there is uncertainty about the constraints or influences that will apply to the government policy and legislative agendas because of numbers in the House and Senate. T ransparency, accountability, public integrity, citizen participation , all elements of good government , hardly rated a mention on the campaign hustings. But o ne welcome outcome from the current mess is that three major players, Labor, the Greens and NXT have more open, transparent government on their list of priorities.  In contrast to the Coalition which offered nothing in this space during the election campaign other than open data and more digital services. Those new commitments came on top of the Turnbull government decision to join the Open Government Partnership , a decision s...

Predicting the outcome of the Senate election is beyond me but apart from the Coaltion , Labor and The Greens , the Nick Xenophon Team is sure to be part of the new mix. Senator Nick Xenophon has spoken up and often on open transparent government, whistleblower protection and other issues such as a national anti corruption commission, political donations, full timely disclosure of use of parliamentary entitlements.... He is one of the few parliamentarians to even mention the Open Government Partnership. Here is what the NXT has to say prior to the election on Saturday: (Responses awaited to questions asked/commitments sought by Accountability Roundtable , Transparency International Australia and Electronic Frontiers Australia )   We stand for: Honest and accountable government Looking after the national interest - not vested interests. Our core focus is: Predatory Gambling Australian Made & Australian Jobs Government & Corporate Accountability "Every thing we do as a t...

Election Initiatives Digital Rights Commissioner - "an independent Human Rights Commissioner for digital rights, to advocate for the online safety, accessibility, privacy and security of all Australians." Digital Democracy Trial a variety of digital platforms to increase participation in democratic processes. Democratic processes and institutions urgently need rejuvenation. Technology has made it easy for ideas to be widely circulated and debated, and for support and interest to be easily gauged. The ability to directly influence legislation and debate will strengthen participation in the political process and increase the legitimacy of the parliament. Use interactive technology to facilitate public participation in annual government budget-setting to determine priorities for new infrastructure and services as well as revenue raising measures. Strengthen links between the community and the parliament. Ideas can be raised on an online platform, and if enough support is...

It just appears to have chosen not to say much about these issues during the eight week campaign. Australian Labor Party 100 Positive Policies: Greater Budget Transparency   -a bigger more public role for Parliamentary Budget Office. National Information Policy Published in December 2015 includes passing now outdated references to Office of Australian Information Commissioner and Open Government Partnership. Recounts Labor initiatives in government prior to 2013 including Cutler Reportand Gov 2.0 Taskforce that "laid much of the groundwork for Australia’s current data infrastructure (eg data.gov.au)"  In summary: Pursue a new, national reform agenda - National Information Policy - to be pursued through a cross-sector Independent Data Council. Establish an Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) modelled on the data platform in operation in New Zealand that combines anonymised information from a range of organisations (eg health, education, crime data) to offer insights to poli...

Polic y positions of the Liberal National Coalition on open transparent government 1. Open Government Partnership No new policy. Existing Policy Committed to membership - "Goals of the OGP are consistent with Australia's long and proud tradition of open transparent government." OGP National Action Plan a work in progress. Comment: No response from Prime Minister to submission by Australian Open Government Partnership Network Chair Dr David Solomon to take up to four months to broaden discussion of reform commitments and establish a formal process to bring government and non government together in the true spirit of partnership to finalise the plan, monitor implementation, report on progress. 2. Open Data, Digital Services  New policy Better and More Accessible Digital Services  In summary: "The Coalition is investing $50 million to modernise myGov. Build on our ‘tell us once’ policy by providing Australians with greater control of their personal information. ...

IFLA On Right to Know Day   NSW Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd released a report by Professor Anita Stuhmcke of the University of Technology, Sydney commissioned by the IPC that provides an insight into the types of practical mechanisms utilised in selected international jurisdictions to promote open government through information sharing and citizen engagement.  Despite the title "Advancing the objects of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW): an international comparative evaluation of measures used to promote government information release"   the report is relevant anywhere policy makers (hopefully) and advocates (certainly) are wrestling with the challenge of how to encourage proactive release of government information. From the Executive Summary SECTION 3: The Concept of Open Government: History and challenges "This report bases its findings upon the three characteristics of open government as defined by the Organisation for Econ...

It didn't take long for the Prime Minister to put down a marker that he is serious about the shift to 21st Century openness. The Administrative Arrangements Order (pdf) released yesterday sets out changes in ministerial responsibility. "Public data policy" gets a mention for the first time and with "Gov 2.0 and related matters", for years the bailiwick of Finance, is now a function for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. The PM and the newly appointed Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Government Mitch Fifield are sure to be very 'hands on.' "Related matters" presumably signals that the Digital Transformation Office transfers from Communications where the PM as Communications minister got things going. The PM has ambitions in this field. In a speech in May Mr Turnbull said Australia "should aim to become the world's leading digital economy" and foreshadowed international and national initiatives: "...

My local member Malcolm Turnbull is challenging for the leadership of the Liberal Party. There was plenty in his statement this afternoon including: We also need a new style of leadership in the way we deal with others whether it is our fellow members of Parliament, whether it is the Australian people. We need to restore traditional Cabinet government. There must be an end to policy on the run and captain's calls. We need to be truly consultative with colleagues, members of Parliament, senators and the wider public. We need an open government, an open government that recognises that there is an enormous sum of wisdom both within our colleagues in this building and, of course, further afield.  I'm going to drink to that! Cheers.