The Truth Is Out There: In Wellington, Not Canberra
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday January 11, 2007
WHEN New Zealand passed the Official Information Act in 1983, it was greeted with hails of dismay by public service unions, lawyers and academics. Cartoonists depicted the act as a useless halfway compromise with the Official Secrets Act. The prime minister, Robert Muldoon, described it as a "nine-day wonder".
The Australian Freedom of Information Act was passed at the same time but was greeted with far greater enthusiasm. The then prime minister, Bob Hawke, boldly stated: "Information about government operations is not, after all, some kind of 'favour' to be bestowed by a benevolent government or to be extorted from a reluctant bureaucracy. It is, quite simply, a public right."What a difference 23 years, and some very different attitudes of our political masters, can make. In Canberra, where we were promised a new democratic right, we now have public officials who will fight all the way to the High Court to deny access to old policy documents.We have a public service in Canberra that appears, by words and deeds, nervous about any level of transparency, and a cabinet that insists it needs to keep every bit of advice and discussion completely under wraps in order to function.Like modern-day Jeremiahs they preach of the harm that will befall Australian democracy and the Westminster system if journalists or others get their hands on policy documents. The Treasurer, Peter Costello, summed up the Government's view in August last year, warning: "We do have candid and fearless moments in the cabinet. This may surprise you, but it does happen. We would be far less fearless and candid in the cabinet if we knew that the minutes were going to be released under FoI. That protection is very, very important to us."But look at New Zealand, where the Official Information Act was treated as a joke. That act grants access to so much cabinet information that there are guidelines published on the internet on releasing it. The New Zealand cabinet manual states: "There is no blanket exemption for any class of papers under the Official Information Act 1982. Cabinet and cabinet committee records are therefore covered by the Official Information Act in the usual way, and every request for cabinet records must be considered on its merits against the criteria in the act." It's impossible to imagine any senior Australian public servant adopting the advice of Marie Shroff, New Zealand's secretary of cabinet and clerk of the executive council for 15 years, and now the Privacy Commissioner, who said: "If I, as a civil servant, write a cabinet paper which I expect to be sought for public release, I am going to be extraordinarily careful to get my facts right, to avoid trespassing into politics, to give comprehensive reasons for and against a proposal, and to think very carefully about my recommendations. My advice will therefore be balanced, accurate and comprehensive."It's just as inconceivable the Australian Treasury would issue the following press statement put out by their New Zealand counterpart on June 1, 2006: "In previous years, the Treasury has received numerous requests under the Official Information Act for budget-related information. Last year, in anticipation of such requests, we released a number of budget 2005 documents onto our website shortly after budget day."Following the success of the 2005 release, we have made available the following budget 2006 documents, which are among the most frequently requested." The internet site includes copies of cabinet papers, the budget strategy, briefing papers and other documents relating to the 2006 New Zealand budget.According to the secretaries of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Treasury in Australia, and testimony accepted by the High Court in last year's landmark FoI decision in the McKinnon case, releasing this type of information would bring government to a standstill.There are many examples of the New Zealand government publishing documents on the internet that would have Australian ministers and senior public servants reaching for the smelling salts. From climate change to the economy to immigration, New Zealand routinely publishes material Australian bureaucrats would fight to the death to keep secret. And somehow, their Government keeps functioning, and no one complains that government suffers when the public gets to see more than press releases.The Herald's FoI editor, Matthew Moore, is on leave. Rick Snell lectures in law at the University of Tasmania, where he specialises in FoI.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald
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