Culture of secrecy must be broken
April 03, 2009 Bureaucrats who set out to thwart FOI requests break the law THE inquiry by NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour into the Roads and Traffic Authority's management of Freedom of Information applications has pinpointed important issues that have long concerned The Australian in relation to all levels of government. Mr Barbour has sent his report to the NSW corruption watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, because he is concerned that potentially corrupt practices deliberately thwarting FOI requests may extend to the "entire public sector". If so, those responsible are breaking the law. At the root of the problem is a culture of secrecy in which too many bureaucrats and politicians regard the public and the media as burdensome, meddling pests when exercising their rights to know more about how taxpayers' money is spent or why government decisions were made. The RTA's costly legal smokescreens, including engaging a lawyer on a $640,000 12-month contract, were exposed after The Daily Telegraph complained about its handling of requests for data on matters as basic as travel times and potholes. Secrecy has been on the rise in NSW for years. A recent survey of more than 100 departments and agencies by the ombudsman found that refusals of FOI applications had increased by 18 per cent in recent years. The culture of secrecy is also deeply entrenched in other jurisdictions. The Brumby Government has resorted to standover tactics, threatening to prosecute a Coalition staffer pursuing an FOI request about water. The federal Treasury, under the Howard government, blocked this newspaper's pursuit of data on bracket creep and the first-home buyers' scheme. Much remains to be done, but the Rudd Government is moving forward in honouring its promise to transform the federal public service's culture of secrecy into one of disclosure. Special Minister of State John Faulkner has announced an overhaul of FOI laws that will allow the public greater access to information online. Culture of secrecy must be broken
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