Anti-secrecy law reforms knocked back as Greens slam SA Government's 'arrogance'
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South Australia's Attorney-General John Rau has struggled to explain why his own party rejected reforms to anti-secrecy laws — despite voting against the amendments minutes earlier in State Parliament.
The reforms, which were intended to improve Freedom of Information (FOI) and access to public documents, were introduced to Parliament by Greens MP Mark Parnell.
They followed recommendations in 2014 by the state's then ombudsman, Richard Bingham, who highlighted concerns of political interference in the FOI process among other problems.
"The ombudsman reviewed how government departments handle Freedom of Information requests and the ombudsman found out they often handle them very badly," Mr Parnell said.
"Sometimes they refuse to respond. Sometimes ministers interfere illegally in Freedom of Information requests.
"This was a range of recommendations that would have made it easier for people to get access to information that the law says they are entitled to."
Bill 'not a Greens' thought bubble'
The bill passed the Upper House with the support of crossbenchers and the Liberals, but was rejected in the Lower House by the Government yesterday.
When asked about that decision minutes later, Mr Rau was unable to explain the Government's reasoning.
"There was a division in the chamber, yes. And clearly the Government opposed the bill," he said.
"Whether or not all of the details of recommendations made by the ombudsman are good recommendations from the perspective of the Government is something that I could only answer after I've had a chance to reflect on them."
Mr Parnell, who asked parliamentary lawyers to draft the amendments, condemned the Government's decision, accusing it of "arrogance".
"These amendments, if they'd passed, would have led to a system where the Government couldn't refuse to deal with applications," he said.
"For the Government to dismiss them out of hand just shows how arrogant they've become.
"By their nature, they vote against anything that anyone puts up who isn't for them, their party.
"This wasn't some thought bubble from the Greens. These were the ombudsman's recommendations."
Mr Rau said he could not be certain the amendments included in the bill aligned with the suggestions of the ombudsman, but admitted he could not "recall in detail".
When asked to clarify the Government's view, Mr Rau said he was not prepared to "wing it".
"I'm not sure whether the recommendations of the ombudsman and the bill were aligned. You may be correct. I'm not sure," he told reporters.
"I'm happy to have a look at it."
Topics: government-and-politics, states-and-territories, state-parliament, adelaide-5000, sa
