International Law

Open government

Posted on February 07, 2011
The Office of Australian Information Commissioner is hosting a blog from 8 February to discuss draft principles and issues concerning open government information. Before leaving Australia I said the Commissioner's issues paper setting out ten draft principles  sounded pretty good to me...

WikiLeaks FAQs

Posted on February 03, 2011
Two more useful bits on WikiLeaks related issues as seen from here: this set of FAQs published by OpenThe Government.org, and POGO"s Fact Sheet on the Federal whistleblower legislation as at December, now shrouded in uncertainty/gloom as a result of recent developments

Australians in Washington

Posted on February 02, 2011
Well I'm here, but that's neither here nor there. So is Pat Farmer the ultra-marathon runner and former federal parliamentarian who has received a little coverage as he charges around Washington, acclimatising for his run from pole to pole. But the big Australian name in town is Julian Assange who featured on CBS Sixty Minutes on Sunday, and the same day was the subject of a long article by Bill Keller, the paper's Executive Editor, in The New York Times Magazine...

Hard to believe from a government committed to letting the sun shine in

Posted on February 01, 2011
Plus ca change! From The Australian on 1 February (Favouring substance over spin-no link available) about changes to ministerial staff"Based on limited information available, The Australian has led media coverage on the poor quality of advisers in Canberra...

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Stop laughing this is serious!

Posted on February 01, 2011
Heard the one about the independent report the government has sat on for 10 months about federal parliamentarians entitlements, including the adequacy of disclosure requirements? As James Massola reported in The Australian last weekPRESSURE is mounting on the Gillard Government to release a review of politicians' entitlements that will recommend big pay rises for MPs...

Blogging not quite as usual

Posted on January 31, 2011
We finished 2010 with 43,381 hits for the year, compared to 30,355 the previous year, and 17,003 and 13,574 for the two years before that. Low expectations meant we didn't keep track in 2006, year one of this little effort. Thanks folks. Particularly pleased with the trend, and the increase in comments...

FOI for the private sector an interesting idea one year, dead duck the next

Posted on January 30, 2011
Whether a government owned monopoly such as NBN Co, so vital to our future as the government says, should be outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act that has excited recent interest and it's not finished yet. But what about transparency standards and the right of access to information held by private sector organisations, where there are equally important bodies who hold information of great potential impact on the community as a whole...

Good intentions... again.

Posted on January 24, 2011
Things I meant to do before heading off overseas, but won't get around to: Tell you that Christmas came and went and still not a word about the Belcher Report on entitlements for federal parliamentarians, that hopefully addresses transparency issues. The Government has had the report since last April...

National Information Law Conference Canberra March 2011

Posted on January 19, 2011
Information law, a topic probably still not taught as such in many Australian law schools, has arrived with the National Information Law Conference organised by Australian Government Solicitors' to be held in Canberra in March. It's a good thing that the field now gets this recognition and the program of Australian and overseas speakers sounds interesting and attractive...

The Red Book publishing phenomenon

Posted on January 19, 2011
I haven't done any more Red Book sleuthing so don't know if others have popped up recently but the following are extracts from an article by John Ross of Campus Review (subscription) who wrote extensively about the brief provided to the incoming government by Department of Education Employment and Workplace relations, and the encouraging release of other incoming government briefs: "But Australian lawyer and FOI campaigner Peter Timmins says DEEWR was simply following suit, with nine other departments (Comment: I think its now 13) ? beginning with Treasury in late September ? beating it to the punch...

Company structure shouldn't shade NBN Co from sun shining in

Posted on January 17, 2011
 Business Spectator: The National Broadband Network Co (NBN) will be exempt from freedom of information laws, unlike other federal government agencies, according to a report by the Australian Financial Review (AFR)...The NBN's exemption, on the basis that it is an incorporated company according to NBN chief legal counsel Justin Forsell, is in contrast to the precedent applied to Telstra prior to its privatisation when the telecommunications company was subject to FOI laws...

Some cabinet papers still too sensitive after 30 years

Posted on January 16, 2011
National Archives of Australia released the cabinet papers of 1980 under the 30 year rule on 1 January. Archives are moving towards open access after 20 years, but NAA didn't have resources to release the 1981 records, as required in what would have been the first step in this transition...

Information and Privacy Commission in NSW operative from 1 January.

Posted on January 11, 2011
The Information and Privacy Commission in NSW is formally up and running from 1 January, bringing together the existing Office of the Information Commissioner and Privacy New South Wales (media release). Here is an earlier post on the legislation that Parliament passed in September...

Whistleblowing and leaks

Posted on January 10, 2011
Someone at Fairfax seems to have had a better thought about the headline to a report on the investigation of Commonwealth government leaks, after the SMH paper edition conflated whistleblowers and leaks thus: "War on whistleblowers: Labor uses a bigger stick to keep its secrets safe...

"Confidential" legal settlements involving alleged government wrongdoing.

Posted on January 10, 2011
Insisting on the "confidentiality" of settlement terms of legal proceedings is no doubt Standard Operating Procedure for lawyers acting for a defendant, on the basis that it involves no admission of liability or of wrongdoing that can be admitted in evidence in any future court proceedings, and the amount involved doesn't sit as a public benchmark for anyone else inclined to take similar action...

Intelligence services review won't go into accountability and transparency either

Posted on January 09, 2011
BBC series Accountability and transparency issues don't feature in the terms of reference for the independent review of Australia's intelligence services to be conducted by Robert Cornall, former head of the Attorney General's Department, and Associate Professor Rufus Black announced by the Prime Minister just before Christmas...

Australian foreign aid review should explore accountability and transparency issues

Posted on January 09, 2011
Hollway is Review Panel Chair The terms of reference for the review announced late last year of Australia's foreign aid program include no specific mention of transparency and accountability, although examination of "the effectiveness and efficiency of the Australian aid program" including performance of the program and lessons learned, the appropriateness of current arrangements for review and evaluation, and the management of fraud and risk are wide enough to encompass such issues, should the panel wish to go there...

Red book 12: The Australian FOI turns up Immigration's brief

Posted on January 06, 2011
The Australian has a version of the incoming government brief from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, released on Tuesday under the Freedom of Information Act.The document doesn't appear on the Department's website so far as I can see. The Australian is enjoying the exclusivity of the release, with these five articles referring to information in the brief in the last day or so: PR trumps policy  Firms most worried about wages: ACCI 'System in crisis' as influx continuesX-ray age-check tool inaccurate Sponsored skilled migrants face visa wait...

Those bloody Victorian removalists!

Posted on January 05, 2011
Melissa Fyfe in The Age over Christmas reported on a second sloppy clean out of Brumby government offices that left a trail of papers showing inappropriate activity including interference with the Freedom of Information process:Adviser notes and briefings found in desk drawers in the premier's office reveal that John Brumby blocked the appointment of an FOI officer because he was advised "she has consistently interpreted requests and made decisions to our detriment"...

"Let the sun shine in"-in the fullness of time

Posted on January 05, 2011
Peter Van Onselen in The Australian on 22 December on the continuing mining tax stand off, partly over what this sentence in the heads of agreement between the government and the big miners means: "All state and territory royalties will be creditable against the resources tax liability...

DFAT Red book on the other hand is SECRET AUSTEO

Posted on January 04, 2011
Despite the lead by 11 other Commonwealth agencies in releasing parts of the incoming government brief, including Defence and PM&C, and recent insights into departmental views as reported to Washington by the US Embassy Canberra, courtesy of WikiLeaks, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade apparently sees no scope for publishing  anything along these lines, letting pass the opportunity to contribute to informed discussion and debate...

Red books 10 and 11 published including Prime Minister's.

Posted on January 04, 2011
Two more incoming government briefs surfaced in the lead up to Christmas, now close to six months after the government received them: Education Employment and Workplace Relations and Prime Minister and Cabinet. In terms of detail they are in sharp contrast...

Looking for high notes in low key FOI annual report

Posted on January 03, 2011
Markus Mannheim in the Canberra Times seems to have been the only media mainstreamer to pick up on the release of the 2009-2010 Annual Report on the operation of the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act, signed off by the Minister Brendan O'Connor on 31 October but released with the usual impeccable timing in Christmas week...

All the best...

Posted on December 21, 2010
Wiki Commons-Hai Linh Truong, Sydney I'll be around for the next few weeks, spending more time than usual enjoying the view, but expect many, most, or all of you will soon be a million miles from caring about the usual fare found here. So best wishes for Christmas, the season, summer or winter solstice or whatever you are celebrating, and a safe, healthy and rewarding 2011...

US and Australian law regarding publication of government secrets

Posted on December 21, 2010
Attorney General McClelland on 17 December announced the Australian Federal Police had not identified any criminal offences regarding WikiLeaks "where Australia has jurisdiction" and added:?The Government remains extremely concerned about the unauthorised and irresponsible distribution of classified material...

Kessing's plight, and notorious secrecy law both deserve government attention

Posted on December 19, 2010
Chris Merritt in The Australian puts it to Andrew Wilkie to push for an inquiry into the Kessing affair, a process that might allow the truth to come out and, if so, a conviction to be quashed. Or at least provide a bookend for a pardon for Kessing that the Attorney General's Department regarded as a "Hot Topic" just a few months ago...

Red book 9:Human Services brief published-not even a whistle

Posted on December 17, 2010
Another release with not the slightest attempt to draw attention, this time the Department of Human Services incoming government brief surfaces. Thanks to the eagle eyed reader who noticed this in responses to Estimates questions taken on notice. No mention on the Department's home page, no media release...

WikiLeaks early report card sees mix of bad, good and unchanged consequences

Posted on December 16, 2010
There is an interesting discussion thread on the Lowy Institute Interpreter about the implications of the WikiLeaks disclosures from a foreign affairs perspective, commencing with Rory Medcalf and his "preliminary and highly speculative judgments" that he hopes might be proved wrong in many respects...

Red book 8: Veterans' Affairs brief published-but no song and dance

Posted on December 15, 2010
The Department of Veterans' Affairs, like Attorney General's has provided copies of the redacted Red and Blue book incoming government briefs in a follow on from questions during Senate Estimates, but you also wouldn't know this from the Department's website...

NSW Information Commissioner review functions

Posted on December 15, 2010
The Office of NSW Information Commissioner has had a busy first six months since the commencement of the GIPA act, and the lead up to integration of that office and Privacy NSW. Not much has been published about what's been happening with the resolution of external review applications that can now be sought from the Commissioner (powers on review are recommendatory not determinative), the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal or both...

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