Simon Corbell has announced he’s brought a new Freedom Of Information Bill into the Legislative Assembly:
“The Bill before the Assembly today represents another significant milestone in the progression of this government’s ongoing commitment to open government,” Mr Corbell said.
“It amends the objects of the Freedom of Information Act to reflect these open government principles and further highlights the government’s desire to facilitate public access to information held by territory government agencies.”
The amendments progress five main areas of reform:
— there will be a requirement to publish on the internet documents provided under the FOI Act
— the objects clause of the Act will clearly state that government held information is a public resource
— the Act will clearly distinguish between exempt documents and conditionally exempt documents
— there will be a single public interest test that applies to conditionally exempt documents
— conclusive certificates issued prior to the 2009 abolition of most powers to issue such a certificate will be
revoked.