International Law

First signs of new Queensland

Posted on July 14, 2009
The Queensland Right to Information Act came into force on 1 July 2009, replacing the Freedom of Information Act, so it's still very early days, but already some visible developments. The Premier's Statement of Right to Information Principles includes a clear, strong message that the government will conduct itself "in the most open and transparent way possible": "The processes of government should operate on a presumption of disclosure with a clear regard for the public interest in accessing government information...

Back in touch.

Posted on July 13, 2009
I'm in Darwin catching up, courtesy of internet access, on developments of a week spent in very remote locations. For me, items of particular interest include:James Massola in The Canberra Times, brought together the key elements of the open government reforms now moving on a number of fronts in Canberra, and included a well deserved wrap for what the four volunteers behind Open Australia have managed to do with parliamentary information...

Federal Privacy Commissioner extended 12 months

Posted on July 04, 2009
Federal Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis has had her appointment extended for a year. In the announcement Special Minister of State Ludwig said she would assist in the transition to new arrangements including the establishment of the office of the Information Commissioner, expected to be operating from early 2010...

Queensland RTI in effect

Posted on July 02, 2009
Now I wonder whether you read in the media anywhere-I didn't -that it appears from this home page that the Queensland Right to Information Act came into effect yesterday.

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Warning do not enter: danger to democracy

Posted on July 02, 2009
Found a web connection way out here and see News Ltd CEO John Hartigan at the National Press Club yesterday gave an interesting, spirited and optimistic speech about the future of journalism for those prepared to make the very big adjustment to changing times and public tastes, and how News plans to thrive in this environment...

No sympathy required.

Posted on June 30, 2009
I'm travelling in far northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory until 14 July so you will understand that things germane to the usual preoccupations here have assumed a lesser priority. I'll check in occassionally- perhaps and as opporunities arise- but it may be slim pickings for the next two weeks...

Lobbyists register one year on

Posted on June 29, 2009
This discussion on Radio National's the National Interest suggests two prominent lobbyists think the registration scheme, now a year on, has had little or no impact on their operations. Robin Banks of the Public Interest Advocacy Center points out that registration, in the absence of regular reporting on contacts, and a scheme that doesn't extend to those who represent themselves, or to the lobbying of members of parliament, fails to deliver the transparency we should expect concerning influence peddling.

MPs and opaque arrangements about expenditure of public money

Posted on June 29, 2009
The NSW Remuneration Tribunal last week issued the 2009 Annual Report and Determination of Additional Entitlements for Members of the Parliament of NSW. I'm all in favour of paying parliamentarians properly as recommended by an independent body but we badly need more sunshine about what goes here, despite the Tribunal's commendation of some recent initiatives to improve accountability...

Secrecy on emergency readiness hinders not helps preparedness

Posted on June 29, 2009
From ABC onlineDr Anthony Bergin the Director of Research Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and David Templeman the former director-general of Emergency Management Australia on excessive and damaging secrecy about national preparedness for large scale emergencies: "Terrorists already know where our soft spots exist...

Media organisations clash over FOI reform

Posted on June 28, 2009
Mark Day in The Australian reports on a power struggle within the Australian Press Council partly prompted by a clash over the APC's role and the belief by publishers that it was straying from its mission: "that increasing resources were being spent on annual state-of-the-media reports and developing policy on issues such as privacy, freedom of information and government secrecy...

Gov 2.0 in the news

Posted on June 28, 2009
The Gov.2.0 initiative, about disclosure of useful government information of potential benefit to the community, is running - Minister Lindsay Tanner is blogging away strongly about what he says the Federal Government is on about, which sounds great but has provoked a string of mostly sceptical comment; in the US state information officials are going to work with the White House to develop national standards on disclosure of government data but here is a view that being too open may be problematic; the UK Opposion Leader is talking about "letting data free" if he wins the next election; and the Victorian Parliament Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee reported last week on Improving Access to Victorian Public Sector Information and Data...

What to make of leak week?

Posted on June 25, 2009
There are currently over 300 media reports on Google Search about leaks and alleged leakers arising from events of the past week in Canberra and the mystery surrounding Treasury official Godwin Grech.However The Sydney Morning Herald editorial is right to express a note of concern if the investigation of a forged email "signalled a new crackdown on information flows from the public service and a return to the climate of intimidation enforced under the Howard government...

Portrait of a busy man

Posted on June 25, 2009
courier mail.com.auCongratulations to Queensland Freedom of Information review chair David Solomon, who following his appointment earlier in the week to the Federal Government's Government 2.0 Taskforce has been appointed Queensland Integrity Commissioner to give ethical advice to politicians and senior public servants on how to avoid conflicts of interest.

Alice in Wonderland: Alice wants to know about school.

Posted on June 25, 2009
The NSW Parliament yesterday also finalised the Education Amendment (Publication of School Results) Bill with an amendment forced on the Government by The Greens and the Opposition in the Upper House and accepted by the Assembly (Hansard page 4).Although it accepted the amendment with teeth gritted, I'm struggling to understand the Government's position on league tables, plain, simplistic or crude, or why those who pushed this think there should be restriction on media treatment of publicly available information...

NSW Government Information Act now law waiting for commencement

Posted on June 25, 2009
The NSW Legislative Assembly yesterday accepted the minor amendments to the Government Information (Public Access) Bill passed by the Legislative Council, so the new law is done and dusted, save for a commencement date. The Act as passed by Parliament is the Bill as introduced with the amendments referred to in this Hansard extract of Assembly debate:Consideration of the Legislative Council amendments...

Federal MPs travel details on-line.

Posted on June 25, 2009
Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig yesterday tabled in Federal Parliament the six monthly reports on travel and related expenses paid by the Department of Finance and Deregulation for members of parliament and former members, and overseas study travel reports submitted by members...

NSW Government Information Bill debate in all the gory detail.

Posted on June 24, 2009
Just on the off-chance that you have a little time on your hands or an overwhelming thirst for the detail, I've put together here the various extracts from Hansard of debate in both Houses of NSW Parliament on the Government Information (Public Access) Bill and related legislation...

NSW Government Information Bill passed by both Houses

Posted on June 24, 2009
The NSW Government Information (Public Access) Bill passed the Assembly on Tuesday and the Legislative Council around 12.30 this morning . The Greens' Lee Rhiannon moved 26 amendments in the Council. All but two related amendments failed as the Opposition sided with the Government on the Bill as introduced, claiming they didn't have sufficient time to consider them properly...

Court rules re-litigation of FOI exemption claim an abuse of process

Posted on June 24, 2009
A recent NSW Supreme Court decision (Howell v O'Brien) to dismiss a defamation action brought against the in-house solicitor for Macquarie University involved a number of Freedom of Information aspects including a decision to not allow re-litigation of earlier Tribunal and Court findings that documents were exempt under the NSW Freedom of Information Act...

Norfolk Island "back from the brink?"

Posted on June 23, 2009
It was no doubt of interest to the 1800 who live out there in the Pacific when the then Minister for Home Affairs announced in May a package of governance and accountability reforms for the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island. According to Island News the Minister last year had said the Territory was on the brink of becoming a failed state...

Tasmania moving forward on reform inititiatives

Posted on June 23, 2009
The Tasmanian Attorney General says "strong progress had been made on the review of Tasmania?s Freedom of Information and Public Interest Disclosures laws." Tassie is opting for "Right to Information", following the Queensland lead, as the title of the FOI rewrite, due to go to Cabinet shortly...

Government 2.0: from words to some action.

Posted on June 22, 2009
The joint ministerial announcement today by Ministers Tanner and Ludwig was the establishment of a Government 2.0 Taskforce (with instant website) to provide advice and assistance to the Government as it moves further into the brave new information world...

Full Court of Federal Court turns pages back to FOI 101

Posted on June 22, 2009
The right to your day in court is a central element of our legal system that must be preserved. But the patience of those involved must be sorely tested in cases, such as Luck v University of Southern Queensland involving a frequent litigant, including on Commonwealth Freedom of Information matters...

"The wisdom of the crowd"

Posted on June 22, 2009
When ministers start talking this way, we are moving in the right direction. But I can imagine head-scratching in some public service circles.

Cheney interview off limits-too good comic material.

Posted on June 22, 2009
At least no-one here has justified a Freedom of Information knock-back, on the basis of what the Chasers could do with it. According to AP:"(US) Justice Department lawyers told the judge that future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could become available to their political opponents and late-night comics who would ridicule them...

NSW acts on disclosure of school performance information

Posted on June 21, 2009
I'll leave it to the experts to make what they can of the NSW move ( presumably in line with what is happening in all states and territories) to legislate for the publication of information about school performance. Here is what Education Minister Verity Firth had to say in Parliament last week, making it sound like a big step forward, then claiming NSW has been publishing this sort of stuff for years; in any event amending legislation to permit disclosure of performance information to a national body and subsequent publication by others; and still retaining in the Freedom of Information Act for the time being, and in the proposed Government Information Act, an exemption to protect some information of this kind, and a provision that excludes information relating to relevant functions of the Department and the universities in processing this informtion from the legislation entirely...

Transparency for government borrowings-why didn't the Government think of that?

Posted on June 19, 2009
That's the only question for a government that keeps talking about the importance of transparency. Bernard Keane writing for crikey.com:"Joe Hockey?s successful amendment to the Guarantee of State and Territory Borrowing Appropriation Bill 2009 yesterday to establish a Public Register of Government Borrowings is good policy, the fact that some investors have warned that it will reduce demand for government bonds proves it...

"Bloggers to have greater say in legislative debate"

Posted on June 18, 2009
Well, it's an encouraging headline, and, ahem, some of us would like to think so. Minister for Finance Lindsay Tanner dubbed here "the unofficial minister for blogging", and newly appointed Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary Senator Joe Ludwig are to announce "an exciting new initiative" at the Government 2...

Everything fine and dandy in NSW parliament

Posted on June 18, 2009
When asked in the Legislative Council yesterday about why the NSW Parliament would not be subject to the Government Information (Public Access) Bill the Attorney General John Hazistergos said it was a silly question and that the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly had explained the reasons for the decision...

Open Australia gets a wrap

Posted on June 17, 2009
Congratulations to the Open Australia gang- cracking a story in the mainstream media about their great voluntary, free service of immeasurable value in keeping track of developments in Federal Parliament. Rated as "a rival parliamentary record" although it in effect depends on Hansard, but adds great value through repackaging and adding search capabilities...

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