Accountability Round Table has long held concerns about the protection of Freedom of Information given the abolition of the oversight body, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), followed by its restoration in a weakened and underfunded form. The Australian Nati

Griffith University and Transparency International have released a new discussion paper as an outcome of the National Integrity Conference held in Brisbane over 16 – 17 March 2017; A Federal Anti-Corruption Agency for Australia? DISCUSSION PAPER #1 Strengthening Australia’s Nati

There are several recent developments in transparency and accountability worth noting. Make it your business to follow up what transpires from each. Select Committee on a National Integrity Commission On 8 February 2017, the Parliament of Australia established a Select Committee on a

WHAT’S NEXT FOR OGP COMMITMENTS? The fourth OGP Global Summit will take place in Paris, December 7th – 9th. The OGP summit will involve 3000 representatives from 70 countries: Heads of State and governments, ministers, public servants, members of parliament, local authorit

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION Open Government Australia in its Draft National Action Plan includes Commitment 3.1 – Information management and access laws for the 21st century. At present the draft commitment reads; “We will ensure our information access laws are modern and appropriate

OGP – NATIONAL ACTION PLAN – POLITICAL DONATIONS This second submission from Accountability Round Table suggesting changes to the Open Government Partnership Draft National Action Plan addresses Commitment 4.1, the commitment to examine the ‘framework of donations to polit

OGP – NATIONAL ACTION PLAN – RECOGNISING THE ROLE OF THE OAIC This first submission from Accountability Round Table suggesting changes to the Open Government Partnership Draft National Action Plan addresses the role, overlooked in the National Action Plan, of the Office of

POLITICAL FUNDING and PARTY RULES Following on from our JSCEM submission on political donations by Colleen Lewis, this post reproduces Ken Coghill’s submission 48 to JSCEM, also on political funding and donations to parties. Accountability Round Table has made two submissions to

Peter Timmins’ most recent post to the Open Government Partnership civil society network page reveals that the Australian Government will commit to a series of reforms to accountability and transparency before the end of 2016. The OGP Civil Society page can be found here Peter T

The Accountability Round Table has long been concerned about the reduced state of the Federal Freedom of Information Act and its implementation. The submission below, and its covering letter addresses part of our concern in drawing attention to the administration of the FOI Act by the

On 24 February 2016, the Senate resolved to establish a Select Committee on the establishment of a National Integrity Commission.  This Select Committee was established to inquire into whether a national integrity commission should be established to address institutional, organisation

This paper, “Democracy at the Crossroads?” was delivered by Hon Tim Smith QC  at the Cairn’s Tropical Writers Festival, 11 August 2016. In it, he sets out two broad principles to which members of parliament should adhere, The “Fitzgerald Principles” and The “Public Office Public

The OAIC – The effect of the Government 2016-7 Budget An ART background paper to the election commitments sought by ART from all parties prior to the the July 2nd Federal Election June 2016 Introduction Over the last two years the Government failed in its attempt to have a Bill passed

The Open Government Partnership, an international effort to secure commitments from governments worldwide ” to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance” was signed up to by the Turnbull Government in Nov

Neil Tiffen argues in “The Age” that corruption “is not just an issue for government – it applies to businesses, political parties, sports associations, charitable organisations and unions. It affects us all.” What we need is a “Federal ICAC”, an an

Colleen Lewis makes a new contribution to the debate on the conflict of interest inherent in political donations, especially when those donations are made by big corporations and effectively hidden from scrutiny. “Political funding is a fundamental public interest matter.”

Whistleblower protection in the Public Service is covered by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act).  The PID Act came into operation in January 2014 to encourage public officials to disclose suspected wrongdoing in the Commonwealth public sector. The Commonwealth Ombudsman

A number of people are very concerned at the undermining of judicial independence that is the effect of the new terrorism laws, including Spencer Zifcak. Spencer Zifcak is a member of ART, as well as Allan Myers Professor of Law and Director of Research at the Academy of Law, Australi

Finally you have an opportunity for input into making the Australian Government more open and accountable now that the government has signed on to the international Open Government Partnership agreement. You can show your interest by participating in the rounds of Government public co

Network of civic citizens to engage on open government A national coalition of organisations and individuals is gearing up to respond to the Federal Government’s invitation to engage on issues concerning how to make government work better, focusing on transparency, open government, ci