Mr BELL - 1997-04-29
The Freedom of Information Bill which she has before the House is a commendable piece of legislation, long overdue in this polity. If enacted, will Territory Labor's Freedom of Information Bill prevent governments from covering up poor investment decisions such as those involving the Sheraton hotels, Yulara, the Trade Development Zone and Dalway?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the bill does precisely what the honourable member has suggested. It prevents governments from covering up poor investment decisions such as those involving the Sheraton hotels, Yulara, the Trade Development Zone and so on. The plethora of poor investment decisions, rorts and incompetencies can be manifestly exposed to public scrutiny when freedom of information legislation is available.
It is amazing that, in a young, vibrant community such as the Northern Territory, where we are making a very commendable thrust into South-East Asian markets and maintaining admirable dialogue with our near neighbours, we are still in the dark ages when it comes to exposing rorts and incompetence to public scrutiny. Individuals are not able even to access information about themselves that the government holds. For years and years, the Country Liberal Party administration has refused to allow freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory despite the fact that it has been enacted in most other jurisdictions in Australia, and despite the fact that the then Chief Minister, Marshall Perron, made a promise at the time of the 1990 election that such legislation would be introduced thereafter. Of course, the current Chief Minister, who boasts of open and accountable government under his administration, has denied that it should be available. This government operates under a cloak of secrecy.
With freedom of information legislation, this government's poor investment decisions, its jobs for the boys and girls, its incompetencies and its dishonesties are much more likely to be exposed. It would make the job of the only invigilating body in the Northern Territory, the Public Accounts Committee, much easier, and we would then see, no doubt, the information that has been denied to this House on the North Australian Film Corporation brought into the House. Clearly, that is why the government does not want the legislation. That is why, each time it is suggested that we should have freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory, the Chief Minister trots out his pat little example about letters that were received from the previous Prime Minister.
Freedom of information legislation can work, and it does work admirably in other places. A comprehensive freedom of information act will give Territorians the right to see documentation held by the Northern Territory government containing personal information about themselves. They will be able to ask for information to be changed if it is incorrect or misleading. The act will require the Northern Territory government to reveal what documents
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it holds and how Territorians can access them. It will explain the rules and practices which are used in reaching decisions which affect people, and it will ensure that the government is open and accountable. Hip hooray! It would be wonderful if we saw that day in the Territory.
Not very long ago, the Chief Minister and others, myself among them, were loudly trumpeting, and with great justification, that the people of the Northern Territory were being treated as second-class citizens by Canberra in the way in which the Kevin Andrews bill overrode our legislation. If we examine what the Country Liberal Party government is doing to Territorians in their own jurisdiction, it is apparent that it is doing precisely the same thing. It is treating the Northern Territory population as suckers because it is saying that they are not good enough to have freedom of information legislation, although it is available in every other part of Australia. Territorians are demanding that freedom of information legislation, along with privacy legislation and whistleblower legislation, should be introduced in the Northern Territory. All those underpinnings of a decent democracy should be introduced here. It will be very interesting to see the government's response to the
introduction of this bill. If it opposes it, one will have to ask what it is that it has to hide.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the bill does precisely what the honourable member has suggested. It prevents governments from covering up poor investment decisions such as those involving the Sheraton hotels, Yulara, the Trade Development Zone and so on. The plethora of poor investment decisions, rorts and incompetencies can be manifestly exposed to public scrutiny when freedom of information legislation is available.
It is amazing that, in a young, vibrant community such as the Northern Territory, where we are making a very commendable thrust into South-East Asian markets and maintaining admirable dialogue with our near neighbours, we are still in the dark ages when it comes to exposing rorts and incompetence to public scrutiny. Individuals are not able even to access information about themselves that the government holds. For years and years, the Country Liberal Party administration has refused to allow freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory despite the fact that it has been enacted in most other jurisdictions in Australia, and despite the fact that the then Chief Minister, Marshall Perron, made a promise at the time of the 1990 election that such legislation would be introduced thereafter. Of course, the current Chief Minister, who boasts of open and accountable government under his administration, has denied that it should be available. This government operates under a cloak of secrecy.
With freedom of information legislation, this government's poor investment decisions, its jobs for the boys and girls, its incompetencies and its dishonesties are much more likely to be exposed. It would make the job of the only invigilating body in the Northern Territory, the Public Accounts Committee, much easier, and we would then see, no doubt, the information that has been denied to this House on the North Australian Film Corporation brought into the House. Clearly, that is why the government does not want the legislation. That is why, each time it is suggested that we should have freedom of information legislation in the Northern Territory, the Chief Minister trots out his pat little example about letters that were received from the previous Prime Minister.
Freedom of information legislation can work, and it does work admirably in other places. A comprehensive freedom of information act will give Territorians the right to see documentation held by the Northern Territory government containing personal information about themselves. They will be able to ask for information to be changed if it is incorrect or misleading. The act will require the Northern Territory government to reveal what documents
Page 2080
it holds and how Territorians can access them. It will explain the rules and practices which are used in reaching decisions which affect people, and it will ensure that the government is open and accountable. Hip hooray! It would be wonderful if we saw that day in the Territory.
Not very long ago, the Chief Minister and others, myself among them, were loudly trumpeting, and with great justification, that the people of the Northern Territory were being treated as second-class citizens by Canberra in the way in which the Kevin Andrews bill overrode our legislation. If we examine what the Country Liberal Party government is doing to Territorians in their own jurisdiction, it is apparent that it is doing precisely the same thing. It is treating the Northern Territory population as suckers because it is saying that they are not good enough to have freedom of information legislation, although it is available in every other part of Australia. Territorians are demanding that freedom of information legislation, along with privacy legislation and whistleblower legislation, should be introduced in the Northern Territory. All those underpinnings of a decent democracy should be introduced here. It will be very interesting to see the government's response to the
introduction of this bill. If it opposes it, one will have to ask what it is that it has to hide.
Page 2081
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016