Howard Government 'made art form of secrecy' (AUS)
Howard Government 'made art form of secrecy' November 30, 2007 05:45pm Article from: AAP Mr Walker said he now looked forward to working with Labor's Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd to strengthen freedom of information laws. "In the past 11 years of the previous government they have made the suppression of public information an art form," he told Fairfax Media's annual meeting in Sydney today. "We look forward to working with the Rudd Government to implement the constructive proposals they have made to strengthen our Freedom of Information laws and other key reforms. "We want stronger freedom of information laws, protection for courageous whistleblowers, shield laws for our journalists so that they are not jailed for doing their jobs, and accountability in government at all levels," said Mr Walker, who was a highly successful fund raiser for the Liberal Party. Fairfax Media joined with most other major media organisations last year to form Australia's Right to Know Coalition. The group was partly motivated by the experience of Melbourne Herald Sun journalists Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus. The pair at one point faced the prospect of jail terms when they refused to disclose the source of a story about a Federal Government plan to slash the benefits of war veterans. They were eventually convicted of contempt of court and fined $7000. Pasted from <http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22848496-29277,00.html>
FORMER Liberal Party treasurer and Fairfax chairman Ron Walker says the defeated Howard Government made the suppression of public information into an "art form".
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