International Law

Bill of Rights 1688 still handy for the Government; 21st Century charter another story

Posted on March 08, 2010
At a time when the Commonwealth Government is reported to have put the brakes on the charter of rights recommended by the Brennan Committee, and dire and often off - the - map predictions have been made about the repercussions of embracing such a radical idea, it is ironic that the Bill of Rights of 1688 came in handy when the Department of Broadband the Digital Economy and Communications was arguing successfully against production of documents sought in civil proceedings brought by the liquidators of Optel in the NSW Supreme Court...

Freedom of Information and two state elections

Posted on March 07, 2010
With elections in both states on 20 March, transparency in government is receiving different treatment in the campaigns in Tasmania and South Australia.In Tasmania the incumbent Labor Government can point to significant action on reform with a good (subject to quibbles as you might expect) Right to Know Act scheduled to commence on 1 July that includes a couple of "lead the nation" elements such as the Parliament being covered in respect of administrative functions, and the abolition of all charges for processing applications...

Names of public officials carrying out public functions

Posted on March 04, 2010
For another purpose I've done a little research recently on the disclosure of the names of public officials when requests under Australian freedom of information laws seek access to documents that include information about the conduct of government functions...

The story of a simple FOI-the Premier's Appointments Diary

Posted on March 04, 2010
Apart from revealing in the Tasmanian Times some of those who saw Premier Bartlett between May and November 2008, Bob Burton has written the details of what happened in the course of an eventually successful Freedom of Information application to obtain information from the Premier's appointment diary, and some of the considerations against release, floated by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, which in the end just wilted away...

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Traps in "right to information" ?

Posted on March 02, 2010
The NSW shift in the yet to commence Government Information (Public Access) Act from the FOI right of access to "documents" to the GIPA right to "information" is welcome, and to my mind a positive reform others should follow. It should result in more requests being dealt with in a relatively straightforward manner, for example through extraction of relevant requested information from electronic systems and, where no prior record exists, provision of access in a new record created for this purpose...

Black holes at the heart of FOI

Posted on March 01, 2010
Australian Freedom of Information aficionados, familiar with the definitional issues argued up hill and down dale and the absolute nature of the cabinet document exemption in our laws, may know that the UK doesn't have such a specific provision in the FOI Act, although just about everything of this nature is caught by a policy document exemption that at least requires consideration of the public interest...

FOI= rights+sound economics+........

Posted on February 28, 2010
Nicholas Gruen writing in Government News isn't the first economist to postulate Freedom of Information reform as not just a "rights" issue, but an important matter of micro-economic reform - Stiglitz is just one example. I liked Gruen's couple of instances of well, lateral thinking - post codes that received fiscal stimulus cheques for family payments when, and publication of firms' workers compensation premiums - about disclosures that would advance community interests, the former assisting assessment of the impact of the stimulus, the latter as a measure of workplace safety...

Spin and excessive secrecy not a good combination.

Posted on February 28, 2010
Richard Ackland in Secrecy is a denial of our rights in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday and Hamish McDonald in War spinners on the defensive in the same paper on Saturday wrote on different aspects of the same issue: secrecy in the name of intelligence, national security, foreign relations and defence...

Information Commissioner speaks on the challenges

Posted on February 28, 2010
Here is Information Commissioner Designate John McMillan on ABC Radio AM discussing his role and some of the challenges. The interviewer seems to be hopeful of better access to Cabinet documents in the FOI Reform/Commissioner world but there is only a slither of change to that exemption, and historians will like the fact we're moving from 30 to 20 years for open access under Archives legislation...

Plenty more in FOI decision apart from the kitchen cabinet

Posted on February 25, 2010
The "kitchen cabinet" aspect of the decision by Deputy President Forgie of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Telstra wasn't the only element of the decision worth noting . Her examination of the law, precedents and findings concerning the cabinet document exemption (provided in the event she was wrong in concluding that the Special Ministers' group was not a cabinet committee), and the internal working document exemption and associated public interest test, provide something of a case book on these issues, worth filing away for future reference...

McMillan an outstanding choice for Information Commissioner

Posted on February 25, 2010
The Commonwealth Ombudsman Professor John McMillan has been appointed Information Commissioner Designate. This is an outstanding choice and evidences the Government's seriousness of intent in this field. McMillan will bring stature, knowledge, expertise and experience to the position and will be on the job getting things moving from 8 March, before legislation creating the position passes Parliament...

Health identifiers off to Senate Committee

Posted on February 24, 2010
The Senate yesterday referred the Government's Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010  to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 15 March 2010.Reasons for referral/principal issues for consideration:Privacy safeguards in the BillOperation of the Healthcare Identifier Service, including access to the IdentifierRelationship to national e-health agenda and electronic health records...

Archives to say open..in a fashion

Posted on February 23, 2010
After posting a Boo, hiss last November over Government plans to close National Archives' offices in Darwin, Adelaide and Hobart, an "archivists power" movement has led to a roll-over of sorts.  University of Sydney FOI staffer Anne Picot features in the 7...

AWB knew, should government have twigged?

Posted on February 22, 2010
The admission by AWB Limited, in settling a class action brought by a group of shareholders, that it knew money being paid to transport wheat  to Iraq was being illegally siphoned to Saddam Hussein's government all along, after battling through the Cole Royal Commission claiming innocence, is an appalling comment on the standards of honesty of those involved...

Howard's kitchen cabinet not the real thing

Posted on February 22, 2010
While making it clear that government leaders are at liberty to establish whatever decision making processes they wish, a decision last week by Deputy President Forgie of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Telstra and Department of Broadband, Communications and The Digital Economy [2010] AATA 118) points up the problem that will arise from a Freedom of Information perspective in setting up a group of ministers and treating it as if it is a cabinet committee, even though it isn't...

FOI in the High Court: Osland case raises soundness of mercy refusal

Posted on February 22, 2010
In the long-running Freedom of Information case that revolves around the circumstances that give rise to the exercise of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal's override discretion under Section 50(4) of the Freedom of Information Act to require disclosure of an otherwise exempt document where the public interest requires it, the central issue before the High Court will be the Victorian Court of Appeal's view of the proper application of the provision...

Parliament outside the transparency and accountability loop

Posted on February 22, 2010
David Hawker the federal Liberal MP for Wannon is a former speaker of the House of Representatives and in "Don't starve the watchdog" in The Australian yesterday made a good case for a properly resourced parliament, among other things. Two paragraphs mentioned below deserve comment...

Senate Committee hearing on FOI Reform bill

Posted on February 21, 2010
The transcript of the Senate Committee hearing on Freedom of Information Reform legislation in Melbourne on 15 February has been published although not as of now up on the Committee page. All witnesses  highlighted areas that warrant further consideration, or raised questions about why other changes had not been included...

Slow-no?- progress in the Capital Territory.

Posted on February 21, 2010
Whatever happened to the ACT Assembly Committee inquiry into the Freedom of Information Act?Impressive terms of reference were adopted in April last year, but apart from three published submissions including one from the Australian Press Council there is no visible sign of activity since, and no report date for the Committee...

NSW guidance on GIPA Act

Posted on February 21, 2010
The NSW Office of Information Commissioner published more guidance material on Friday on the Government Information (Public Access) Act including two Knowledge Updates-  transition arrangements on repeal of the FOI act, and application of the public interest test, the latter pretty basic in terms of the sort of thing agencies are looking for...

Advice documents mostly sacrosanct

Posted on February 18, 2010
A couple of weeks ago Minister for Climate Change Penny Wong was quick off the mark releasing what was described as a summary brief containing analysis by the Department of the just announced Opposition policy. However when the issue arose in Senate Estimates hearings of what other advice she had received, in addition to the two pages released, it emerged there was plenty more, but don't expect to see it until the Government is good and ready, or maybe in open access records in 20- 30 years...

Curiosity or legitimate public interest?

Posted on February 18, 2010
Roll on that foreshadowed culture change. In the meantime... Stephen Kirchner of Institutional Economics and the Centre for Independent Studies writing in The Australian today, recounts efforts, including finally a successful Freedom of Information application, to obtain a copy of a speech last September by Executive Director of the Foreign Investment Review Board whose other hat is General Manager of the Trade and Foreign Investment Division in Treasury...

Public interest immunity to protect collective cabinet responsibility

Posted on February 18, 2010
In recent Senate Estimates hearings for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, amid questioning of Minister Ludwig and officials about the Government's claim that no special deal had been offered those on board the Oceanic Viking, Liberal Senator Ronaldson made a concerted effort to get the names of those who attended a meeting of the Cabinet border protection committee where decisions on the matter were taken, in particular those from the Prime Minister's office...

Queensland first RTI review decision published

Posted on February 17, 2010
There is a long tail to the review of Freedom of Information decisions by the Queensland Information Commissioner, with half a dozen decisions (going back some time) published in the last month or so, on applications made under the FOI Act, the act replaced by the Right to Information Act in July...

FOI reform comparisons- the Commonwealth and NSW

Posted on February 16, 2010
In preparation for speaking to an audience in Sydney today about the Commonwealth and NSW Freedom of Information reforms, I put together information about the reform processes and some high order comparisons between the two laws based on the Commonwealth Reform bills, as introduced, passing the Parliament...

FOI Reform half a loaf, but needed soon, so grab a few extra slices

Posted on February 15, 2010
That's in essence what I told the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee hearing on the Freedom Of Information Reform bills this morning, in my appearance by telephone. I used my opening remarks to welcome the legislation as a step in the direction of more open and accountable government...

Federal Information Commissioner lurking?

Posted on February 14, 2010
The Courier Mail was running ahead of itself with a reference to the federal Information Commissioner in this article at the end of January about violent incidents at public venues in Queensland. There isn't such a position, let alone an occupant at present, and Karen Curtis is the Federal Privacy Commissioner...

NSW information about Government Information

Posted on February 14, 2010
The Office of Information Commissioner NSW on Friday published four fact sheets for members of the public about the Government Information (Public Access) Act (not commenced), and an e-learning module that is pretty basic, but a useful resource for anyone who hasn't followed the development of the act, and for those public servants who need only the general gist of the new law...

Mrs Osland's Christmas yet to come-HIgh Court to decide again

Posted on February 14, 2010
Thanks to Harley Schumann at The Lamp Post, which keeps a close eye on the High Court, for alerting me that the Court on Friday granted another special leave application to Marjorie Osland in the long running battle over a Freedom of Information application for documents concerning her petition for mercy...

Any connection between your bank data and US authorities?

Posted on February 11, 2010
Way back in 2006 questions were being raised here and elsewhere about access by US agencies to details of bank transactions outside the US, and the privacy implications, said to be a necessary element in the war on terror. So interesting to see the European Parliament has rejected an agreement for sharing bank data that allow US authorities to monitor Europeans' financial transaction data from SWIFT, the international banking transfer system...

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