Media release: Disappointment as Government says it has no plans to reform the Official Information Act

Contrary to reporting last year, it seems that the Government currently has no plans to reform the Official Information Act.

At the time we wrote to Ministers Clare Curran and Andrew Little expressing our support for such a reform. We have finally had a response from Justice Minister Andrew Little that:

Although a review of the Official Information Act is not presently under consideration by the Government, such a review is possible at some point in the future.

Chairperson of the NZ Council for Civil Liberties, Thomas Beagle says:

We're very disappointed that the Government won't be reforming the OIA, it's a vital tool in holding governments to account. The OIA has been steadily weakened over the years by both changes in how government works, and gaming of the law by Ministers and public servants.

Among other things, the Council would like to see serious consideration given to:

• Further encouragement for extensive pro-active publication of documents.
• Removing commercial sensitivity as a ground for withholding information, particularly for outsourced government services.
• Giving the Office of the Ombudsman more resources and powers to enforce the Act.
• Restricting the use of the "legal privilege" grounds to times when matters are actually before a court.
• Reducing Ministerial interference with OIA requests.

We believe that the Official Information Act does need substantive reform, and that the reform process should include significant public consultation and participation. "The Official Information Act needs to be updated so that it can continue to be used to deliver open and transparent government in service of our democracy. We call upon the Government to reconsider its position and start the OIA reform process now," says Thomas Beagle.