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International Law

Open and Shut

Issues associated with Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy legislation in Australia as well as privacy issues generally.

Post Frequency: 4/day

Last Entry: October 30, 2020 at 10:02:02

Business as usual in Canberra

Posted on May 01, 2008
Meanwhile back in Canberra, things continue as they have for the last 25 years- Treasury knocks back a Freedom of Information application by the ABC for documents about the inflationary impact of the Government's industrial relations policy on the grounds that"The full release of these documents would disclose cabinet decision-making processes and, as such, the public interest considerations against their release outweigh any public benefits resulting from their disclosure," a Treasury official says in the response to the ABC...

WA Police vigilant in pursuing cabinet leaks

Posted on May 01, 2008
Canberra, under new management, may have given up the previous practice of reporting every leak to the police for investigation, but in Western Australia, vigilance to protect the confidentiality of the cabinet room has prompted a police raid on the West Australian...

PM and public service getting along famously

Posted on April 30, 2008
The Prime Minister yesterday addressed 900 top Federal public servants on the government's plans, and where they fit in the picture. All good positive stuff about building or rebuilding a modern competitive nation, and the vital role the public service will play in this...

NSW Court of Appeal to decide on Tribunal powers

Posted on April 30, 2008
As a result of this decision in the Supreme Court, the NSW Court of Appeal is to decide whether the Administrative Decisions Tribunal has power to order the release of a document found to be exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, where the Tribunal judges this to be the correct and preferable decision...

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NSW Councils advertising inserts may breach privacy law

Posted on April 29, 2008
It's fairly common practice for NSW local councils to include in the mail out of rates and other notices, advertising material for which they receive a direct or indirect benefit. Some recipients regard this as unsolicited advertising, and it would be wise for councils to at least provide an opportunity to "opt out"...

Ombudsman urged to dig around Police and Health FOi practices

Posted on April 29, 2008
The Daily Telegraph has also thrown its weight behind the NSW Ombudsman review of the Freedom of Information Act, emphasising the need to have a close look at what is going on in some agencies:"The Daily Telegraph, a frequent user of the state's FOI laws, has noted great variance in how agencies comply...

Action needed to match Canberra's FOI rhetoric with applicant's reality

Posted on April 24, 2008
In an article today in the Sydney Morning Herald, I comment on a recent decision in the Federal Administrative Appeals Tribunal, upholding an exemption claim for a four year old report on a major policy initiative by a working group of senior public servants, and how this sits uncomfortably alongside the mood of the 2020 Summit "for a more vibrant democracy through increased public participation in the operation of our democratic institutions, and more open, accountable government...

NSW Ombudsman FOI review in the news

Posted on April 24, 2008
More comment about the planned Ombudsman review of Freedom of Information in NSW in an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, and by Rick Snell in today's Australian, including these observations about the current state of play:The Herald( scroll down to "What's the big secret?"):"( The Ombudsman's work) will have little impact unless the Iemma Government embraces the spirit of the freedom of information law instead of thwarting it...

Swifter,higher,stronger indeed

Posted on April 23, 2008
What is it about the Olympics and secrecy?When the Games were held in Sydney in 2000, the NSW Government,presumably at the urging of the IOC, enacted an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act that provided that any information held by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, and other government agencies created to run the Games that was confidential to the International Olympic Committee (no matter what is was, or when it was sought), was exempt from disclosure...

NSW Ombudsman acts to review FOI Act

Posted on April 22, 2008
The NSW Ombudsman has announced today a comprehensive review of the Freedom of Information Act, which will cover not only the provisions of an act which he describes as dated, complex and difficult,but also its day to day implementation to identify what works well and what could be improved...

Reaction to planned review of NSW Act

Posted on April 22, 2008
Here is the Sydney Morning Herald report on the Ombudsman's planned review of the NSW Freedom of Information Act (including a comment by me); another from The Australian (reporting a promise of additional resources by the Premier); and a media release from The Greens, calling on the Premier to commit to a change and to a response to recommendations within six months...

Bartlett directory of 2020 commentariat

Posted on April 21, 2008
The blogosphere has been buzzing with comment from participants and others on the 2020 Summit.Senator Andrew Bartlett has put together this useful list, with links.

Services Sydney scores a rare win

Posted on April 21, 2008
Services Sydney, a private infrastructure development company has been involved in a long battle to try to access the assets of the NSW Government owned monopoly provider, Sydney Water, in order to be able to provide some services in competition.Given this background, it may have been surprised by the substantial win in the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal recently in a case involving 10 documents(now four years old), claimed to be exempt by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal and Sydney Water...

Mostly smiles as 2020 Summit wraps up

Posted on April 20, 2008
Lots of optimism, as well as ideas from the final session of the 2020 Summit just completed. I'm sure there are also tales of disappointment and frustration that we will also get to hear about soon enough.One participant told Peter Mares on Radio National today there were a lot of grumpy people in the Governance group yesterday, and the scuttlebutt was that it was proving to be the most difficult of the 10, but things had improved this morning ...

Tell them about FOI in NSW, its a great story(not)

Posted on April 20, 2008
I think I saw NSW Premier Morris Iemma sitting in the backrow in the Health group at the 2020 summit, as might befit the former Minister for Health in NSW,and someone rightly concerned about the crisis in the public health system in NSW.Did his path cross with David Marr in the Governance group who said on Saturday that this comment in the folder sent to him by the Premier put him over the edge when it came to responding to the Premier's urging to represent NSW interests at the Summit...

What do we want:statehood for Northern Territory.

Posted on April 20, 2008
Yes, it has not taken long for disgruntlement to feature in media reports about the 2020 summit. Where will we be by Monday morning?

Queensland behind the game on health research

Posted on April 20, 2008
Well, as we said recently, its not all happy news on the transparency front in Queensland.Access to data about non personal information about the incidence of cancer is off limits for research purposes even though its available as a matter of routine elsewhere.

Morning after reflections on 2020 Summit

Posted on April 20, 2008
Assessments of the 2020 Summit seem mostly positive and realistic about what results when you lock a lot of people in a room for a relatively short time and tell them "discuss" the major challenges facing the nation.But there are also plenty of naysayers as well...

Just how interested are you in 2020?

Posted on April 18, 2008
This could sort the sheep from the goats-there will be live streaming for some sessions of the 2020 Summit(but from the look of things not the Governance group)from here over the weekend, and television coverage from ABC1 and ABC2.All 8000+submissions were sent to participants over the last few days, so that that must have been fun...

Lead not just in the air in Mt Isa

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Queensland Government's apparent good intentions in charging the Solomon review with the task of fundamental re-examination of the Freedom of Information Act earned it high praise in FOI circles, but as this editorial in today's Courier Mail points out, the day to day performance on transparency issues is not reflective of its stated lofty ambitions.

Poll says Aussie democracy AOK

Posted on April 16, 2008
The ANU Poll of 1000 Australians in March about what they think about governance includes:Confidence in Institutions? Australians have most confidence in the defence forces, universities and the police, and least confidence in the public service, trade unions and banks...

Openness,transparency and accountability a key focus at 2020 Summit

Posted on April 16, 2008
From a report in today's Herald Sun, featuring comment from each chair of the 10 sub-groups, John Hartigan reflects on the challenge for Governance:"IT has been easy for some to criticise the summit. Most of it has been superficial and cynical. It shows why a discussion is long overdue...

2020 Summit submissions published

Posted on April 16, 2008
Well, yes there does appear to be the odd shortcoming in our system of government. Even before the 2020 Summit commences,775 submissions were received on Governance issues by closing time last week and have now been published on the 2020 website( go here and select "Governance")...

Treasury proves it's still a 'closed shop'

Posted on April 16, 2008
Just as participants in the 2020 Summit start to gather to discuss among other things "how best to implement an effective agenda of open government", and "how best to engage the community in government decision making", along comes a timely reminder of some of the obstacles to achieving these objectives...

ICAC decides all above board in battle for Beacon Hill

Posted on April 15, 2008
The Manly Daily reports that the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has decided against any formal investigation into the decision to close the school and sell the land, the subject of many Freedom of Information battles, in recent years.

Nothing personal,just your fingerprints please

Posted on April 14, 2008
The US Secretary of Homeland Security in Ottawa last week suggested that fingerprints were not "personal data", implying that collection and use, and sharing between authorities should be beyond the reach of privacy laws.Canada's Privacy Commisioner wasted no time in telling her Minister(publicly) that this was not a view consistent with Canadian law, and that she expected to be consulted about any arrangement with a foreign government about sharing this type of information...

MPs expenditure should be on the public record

Posted on April 14, 2008
You would hope its only a matter of time here also, as at least one party leader in NZ reflects on a recent order for disclosure of expenditure by MPs in the UK, and says bringing the Parliament under the Official Information Act will happen in NZ sooner or later...

Real time disclosure of political donations

Posted on April 14, 2008
During an interview on Radio National's The Public Interest, the Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board said she had offered the Australian Electoral Commission(and the NSW election authority) free access to software that would facilitate almost immediate publication on the web of declared political donations...

FOI delivers another head on a plate

Posted on April 09, 2008
A document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act,and some painstaking reconstruction of another trashed document by the Tasmanian Greens, have led to the resignation of the Deputy Premier of Tasmania, Steve Kons, after it was revealed that he had misled Parliament...

2020 Summit submission

Posted on April 09, 2008
Here are my 500 words submitted today to the PM's 2020 Summit on the Governance topic.Identify those provisions in the Constitution that are outdated (eg Section 59 gives the Queen power to disallow any law made by the Australian Parliament within one year of assent) or inadequate (eg Section 51 gives the Commonwealth authority over lighthouses and buoys, but makes no mention of the environment)...

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