Freedom of Information Act amendments set to be blocked in Senate, nation could lose appeal rights By Freedom of Information editor Michael McKinnon Fri 3 Oct 2014, 3:07pm Australians could be left with no appeal rights against government secrecy by the end of this year with the Senate set to block crucial changes to the Freedom of Information Act. The act urgently needs amendment after the Governments surprise May budget decision to cut funding for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) by the end of this year. Under the current act, appeals have to be lodged with the OAIC. However, the Governments amendment will allow challenges to go direct to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). But the Greens have decided not to support the amendment and the ABC understands both the Opposition and Palmer United Party (PUP) are also looking to block passage of the amendment in the Senate. With only three sitting weeks for the Senate remaining and without cross-bench support, failure to amend the FOI Act will mean Australians will be without any appeal options against decisions to keep information secret for the first time since the FOI Act was introduced in 1982. FOI laws provide a legal right of access to government information and recognise that politicians control information and tend to hide political and policy failures, mismanagement and corruption from voters. Under the then-Labor governments reform of the FOI Act in 2010, an Australian Information Commissioner was created aimed at improving government transparency and openness. Do you know more about this story? Email [email protected] But the OAIC was taking up to 220 days before even looking at an appeal, leaving applicants facing lengthy delays. The OAIC also made decisions allowing increased government secrecy which also damaged support for the agency. A spokesman for the Attorney-General George Brandis said the 2010 reforms had created an unnecessarily complex system with multiple levels of external merits review for FOI matters. It also led to duplication in FOI and privacy complaint handling which has contributed to delays in these matters, he said. The Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced into the Lower House earlier this week. A government spokesman said the amendment would streamline arrangements for the exercise of privacy and freedom of FOI functions from January 1, 2015 with the abolition of the OAIC - although the Australian Privacy Commissioner will continue as a watchdog over the Privacy Act 1988. A spokesman for Mr Brandis said applicants would have to seek an internal review of FOI decisions before a matter could proceed to the AAT. This will ensure access to low cost and timely review for applicants. The Tribunal will receive a funding boost to assist with processing FOI reviews, the spokesman said. The measures in the Bill will save $10.2 million over four years and is part of the Governments continuing commitment to repair the Budget, the spokesman said. Appeals to the AAT will need an $861 application fee, however all but $100 will be refunded in the event of a successful appeal. Easier for government to operate with minimal scrutiny: Greens Greens spokeswoman Senator Lee Rhiannon said the Greens would not support the FOI changes. If passed, these laws will be a major blow to freedom of information and privacy protection, she said. The Coalition Government is the only winner out of this retrograde budget cut that will make it easier for them to operate with minimal scrutiny. The Treasurers $10.2m cuts to FOI functions further entrenches the Abbott Government fondness for secrecy. These changes will make it harder to scrutinise the activities of departments and politicians. Lower fees and better resourcing of the office would make it easier to scrutinise the activities of departments and politicians. No formal response to the amendments was available from either the ALP, which must wait for a shadow Cabinet decision, or from the PUP. However, the ABC understands neither party will support the amendment as it stands. One option for the Government to gain support could be to guarantee an independent review early next year of the FOI Act, which was a key recommendation of the Hawke review of the FOI Act delivered in August last year. A spokesman for Mr Brandis said the Government was still considering its response to the Hawke review. The need to change the FOI Act before December 31 is not the only FOI issue facing the Federal Attorney-General. Labor has filed an appeal to the AAT for the release of the Attorney-Generals ministerial diary under FOI. Mr Brandis has refused to release his diary, claiming that complying with the FOI request would unreasonably interfere with the work of his office after Labors request for weekly printouts of Mr Brandis diary for his first six months in office. Mr Brandis office claims processing this simple request would occupy the Attorney-General himself for at least 40 hours and require considerable further effort from senior ministerial advisers. Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfuss said Julia Gillard published a public schedule on her website when she was prime minister and both UK prime minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama both publicly release their official diary. As the minister responsible for FOI laws Mr Brandis should be setting the standard for openness and accountability – not hiding behind poor excuses, he said. Michael McKinnon is the ABCs FOI Editor and can be contacted at [email protected] abc.net.au/news/2014-10-03/senate-to-block-crucial-changes-to-freedom-of-information-act/5788266
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 06:15:01 +0000
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