RELEASE OF REPORT ON COMMONWEALTH SECRECY LAWS
Joint Media Release
Attorney-General
Hon Robert McClelland MP
Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State
Senator Joe Ludwig
11 March 2010
Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, today tabled the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) report ‘Secrecy Laws and Open Government in Australia’.
In August 2008, the Government asked the ALRC to consider how Commonwealth secrecy and confidentiality laws could be improved to ensure a consistent approach to the protection of information across government, while balancing the need for transparency and openness.
“It is important to balance the need to protect Commonwealth information against the need to maintain open and accountable Government through the provision of appropriate access to information,” Mr McClelland said.
The ALRC makes a number of recommendations including the replacement of existing secrecy offences under the Crimes Act with a new general secrecy offence.
The report also considers the administrative frameworks relating to the handling of Commonwealth information and recommends best practice principles to guide the review of secrecy provisions.
Cabinet Secretary, Senator Joe Ludwig, welcomed the report and said the Government would be looking closely at the recommendations relating to information policy.
“Since coming to office, the Rudd Government has committed to comprehensive reform of information policy to improve transparency and accountability in government,” Senator Ludwig said.
“The Government is already implementing a number of reforms, including in freedom of information and privacy, and is also looking at the innovative use of Commonwealth information as part of the Government 2.0 Taskforce.”
The Government will carefully consider the recommendations of the report before outlining its response in due course.
The report is available on the ALRC’s website www.alrc.gov.au
Media Contact:
Adam Siddique (McClelland) 0407 473 630
Sarah Cosson (Ludwig) 0423 823 843
