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

It’s good news that the Federal Government and civil society completed and lodged, with the (International) Open Government Partnership, Australia’s first National Action Plan (NAP) on 8th of December last year  to improve and strengthen transparency and openness in Government.

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

AN AMBITIOUS NATIONAL INTEGRITY FRAMEWORK Open Government Partnership Australia is developing a National Action Plan. The current Draft Plan  (as a subset of the commitment in theme 4, to Integrity in the public sector) now includes a commitment to a National Integrity Framework. Its

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

OGP NATIONAL ACTION PLAN. EXPLAINER. The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. It currently

Submission from the Accountability Round Table to the Interim Working Group Posted on September 5, 2016 by ogpteam This is a full reproduction of a submission received from the Accountability Round Table on 4 September 2016. On Saturday, the AGM of the Accountability Round Table Ltd t

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

ART is disappointed in the response from the ALP and Coalition to its survey on accountability measures. It seems very unlikely, whichever party (or parties) forms government, that the next Federal Government will be willing to take on the reforms necessary to deliver best practice in

The Hon Malcolm Turnbull, MP Prime Minister Parliament House CANBERRA   ACT 2600 06/04/2016   Dear Prime Minister I Chair the Accountability Round Table . I refer to our previous correspondence of 10 October 2015 concerning the Open Government Partnership.   May we thank you and

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

Feedback has been sought by the Government in the first stage of the preparation of Australia’s first Open Government Partnership National Action Plan. The Accountability Round Table’s submission to the Australian Government on the Open Government Partnership identifies various

Reforming the Policy Processes of our Democracies [1] “Principles to guide policy reform – can Plato show the way?” Paper presented by Hon Tim Smith QC,  at Melbourne University School of Government Conference , “ Democracy in transition”, 7 December 2015 The challenge of reform How s

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

After a change of Prime Minister and a good deal of pressure from ART and other accountability-promoting organisations, on 17th of November, the Turnbull Government has finally agreed to  join the Open Government Partnership. The Open Government Partnership exists to make sure, in it&

Malcolm Turnbull has promised to “restore accountability and improve transparency measures to be more accountable to you”. That commitment had been breached by the government, in particular by its bill to abolish the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, a mat

The intransigence of the Attorney General on the matter of  the abolition of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner continues. This failure to act renders the government’s commitment to open government a hollow promise. In our latest letter, we call on the Attorne