Obstruction a crime under new FOI laws

Imre Salusinszky, NSW political reporter | May 06, 2009

Article from: The Australian

OFFICIALS who block citizens' access to government information will be subject to criminal prosecution under new freedom of information laws in NSW.

In addition, NSW will follow the lead of Queensland and Western Australia and establish an information commissioner, who will act as a specialist ombudsman in the area.

The changes are part of a draft bill on open government, to be released today by the NSW Labor Government, that will replace the state's 20-year-old freedom of information act.

The changes follow scathing criticism of current freedom of information practices by the state's ombudsman in a report earlier this year.

NSW Premier Nathan Rees said yesterday the information commissioner would be independent and would press agencies to be proactive in the release of information, rather than waiting for formal FOI applications.

The commissioner would also provide an additional avenue of appeal for applicants whose bid for information is refused by a government agency.

While the current act imposes no sanctions against wilful secrecy, the new act will make it an offence for public officials to deliberately flout FOI rules.

It will also be a criminal offence to influence a public official to make an unlawful decision under FOI.

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