Close to year after the Australian house of reps passing the FOI reform Bills they are on their way through the Senate. I made another submission and was called to the senate hearing on March 15.
It was interesting – sort of. The senators on the committee listened politely and asked a few good questions. As in my submission I focused on the fact that if a change of the culture of secrecy is not coupled to the legislative changes – it will all be in vain.
Much will hinge on the how independent and integrity strong the information commissioners are. Professor John McMillan, the current Commonwealth Ombudsman, has been appointed the first Information Commissioner. He is indeed up for a great challenge.
The government have listened to some of the points made in the first submission round. Most notably appeals can now be made directly to the FOI Commissioner by-passing the internal review process.
