Ombudsman to review state FoI laws

THE state's Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, will conduct an unprecedented review of the state's Freedom of Information Act after the repeated failure of the NSW Government to examine the laws.

Mr Barbour did little to hide his irritation with the NSW Government in a release yesterday. "For almost 14 years, each NSW Ombudsman, including myself, has called for an independent and comprehensive review of the FoI Act," Mr Barbour said. He said the legislation was "the cornerstones of good governance" which "ensure[d] that government decision-making is open and transparent, and that decision-makers are held accountable for their actions".

"In the absence of the NSW Government initiating a review of the act, I have decided to conduct my own independent review."

[The trouble with that proposition though, and everybody knows it, is that the Ombudsman is only an insurance policy for the government. Just another arm of government, a government stooge and a toothless terrier for the people. Oh! he may get to the bottom of the problem.... after the current elected government is out of office? Bruce Barbour's portfolio is flawed to say the least because of the Ombudsmans Act restricting his ability to ask certain questions or to obtain certain evidence off the authorities themselves. And if anything at all he's just covering up for the government's latent acts and now trying to look like someone who actually cares? Anyway...]

Mr Barbour's provocative move [?] comes [allegedly] as the Sydney Morning Herald battles with police over the release of the names of pubs and clubs most linked to alcohol-related crime.

The Queensland Government is reviewing its freedom-of-information laws and the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has promised important changes to federal laws by Christmas. One recommendation at the 2020 Summit at the weekend was that freedom-of-information laws be overhauled.

The 1989 act was no longer relevant to the way the Government works, Mr Barbour said. "Both applicants and agencies continually voice their frustration with the act," he said.

Mr Barbour said he would investigate freedom-of-information practices at government agencies, councils, universities and area health services, but which ones had not been decided.

Last year's NSW Ombudsman annual report highlighted the abysmal state of NSW's freedom-of-information laws. The report found that applications released in full in NSW dropped from 81 per cent in 1995-96 to 52 per cent in 2005-06. This compared with the Commonwealth where 78 per cent of requests were granted in full.

Mr Barbour said his review, to begin in two weeks, would involve audits of freedom-of-information files held by the organisations and interviews with staff working in the area. He said he would create a discussion paper and invite submissions. This is expected to be released in July. "The findings from our investigation will inform our final report and recommendations to Parliament," he said.

A freedom-of-information expert, Peter Timmins, welcomed the review but doubted the NSW Government would enact recommendations. "The NSW Freedom of Information Act is certainly long, long overdue for re-examination and improvement," said Mr Timmins, who runs a consultancy specialising in freedom-of-information laws.

"But we're seeing here an Ombudsman starting an inquiry without any indication the Government will respond positively to what emerges. Mr Iemma and his predecessors just don't seem to be interested in making any changes in this area."

The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon criticised the Government for ignoring earlier pleas by the Ombudsman to review the laws. "Premier Morris Iemma has failed to review and revamp FOI laws over the years as his government has been enjoying the spoils of a 'secret state'," Ms Rhiannon said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Iemma, Alison Hill, said the Premier would support the review. Ms Hill did not answer a question about why the NSW Government had not acted on previous Ombudsman recommendations that the Government review the laws.