MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
MORRISON'S WAR ON YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW
Senate Estimates has exposed another front in the Morrison Government's war on the Australian people's Right To Know.
Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton love to say no one is above the law. But they're loose with the truth about their own legal obligations.
Evidence last night from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner revealed the Morrison Government is increasingly failing to comply with federal law in answering Freedom of Information requests about what this government is up to behind closed doors.
It was revealed yesterday in Senate Estimates that the Morrison Government is failing to answer 17 per cent of all FOI requests within 30 days as required by law, up from 15 per cent in 2017/18.
And the worst offender is Peter Dutton's Department of Home Affairs, which has failed to process FOI requests within the legally required time frame over the last two years in a staggering 26 per cent of cases.
Worse, the Morrison Government is deliberately trying to cover up its failures and to make it harder for Australians to exercise their Right To Know by failing to properly resource the agency overseeing government compliance with FOI the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
Under questioning, the OAIC has revealed it has had an 80 per cent increase in demands for FOI reviews over the past four years at the same time as it is being starved of funds, prompting a plea from the OAIC for more resources.
the substantial and sustained increase in IC review applications over recent years has widened the gap between incoming work and finalisations, and has resulted in increased delays and backlogs. In order to meet the timeliness objective of the FOI Act and provide faster outcomes for the community, additional resources are required.
Angelene Falk, Australian Information Commissioner.
Senate Estimates, 22 October 2019
The $156 million spent by the Morrison Government on its pre-election taxpayer funded ad blitz promoting its re-election is six times the annual budget of the OAIC.
The Government also continues to show its contempt for the will of the Parliament by refusing to appoint two of the three Commissioners required under law, including a dedicated Freedom of Information Commissioner.
The already impossible workload of the OAIC is made more difficult by the only Commissioner being required to fill all three roles: as Information Commissioner, Freedom of Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner.
The Morrison Government's abject failure to comply with its obligations under freedom of information laws or to even appoint a Freedom of Information Commissioner is further evidence of its contempt for the freedom of the press and the Australian public's Right To Know.
This is typical from a Government led by a Prime Minister who is loose with the truth and repeatedly avoids answering even the simplest questions that seek to hold him accountable to the Australian people.
WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2019
