Early poll kills hope of open government law

Press, 7 April 1979, Page 9

Early poll kills hope of open government law

NZPA London [ Britain’s firmest step yet,| [after years of trying towards more open government has been tripped up by Labour’s defeat and the rushed lawmaking of Parliament’s last days this week. The Official Information Bill, introduced by the Liberal Clement Freud had won a second reading, the main debating stage, but this week it joined others, like the seat-belt bill and the I Kiribati bill— providing independence for the Gilbert Islands — on the legislative scrapheap. Mr Freud, who combines Parliamentary business with catering and sports writing, does not like his chances of getting so far with the bill in the next Parliament. Introduced as a private member’s bill, it has a low priority and he will have to go to the back of the queue of private members al! with their own hobby-horses. The bill carried on from where promises from boßh

[the Labour and Conservative’ Parties left off. It would; have extended the public’s right to know along the lines of the American and Scandinavian Freedom of Information Acts, but fell short of radical departures suggested by the ruling Labour Party’s Left-wing. And it had the tacit support of the Labour front' bench after the Home Secre-[ tary (Mr Merlyn Rees), the Minister responsible had it been a Government bill, said Labour would not oppose it. Mr Freud’s concept of more open government re-j stricted itself to the Govern-; ment and its departments I and Ministries. It did not; cover local authorities or[ other public services, and! virtually left untouched the; sensitive areas of private and commercial confidentiality, defence, and foreign relations. But the bill did provide for the repeal of the second section of the Official; Secrets Act which prohibits.

the release of any official information not approved for publication. Both the Labour Government and the British High Court have declared that the section—- — to a clause in the New Zealand Official Secrets Act — should be scrapped.

The Labour Government in 1974 promised action on Imaking more official busi[ness the people’s business also, but all that resulted was a vague direction to Ministers to release information — at their discretion — on which Ministerial decisions had been based. ; “The Times,” in one of its ! last issues before suspenision. noted that "precious [little” information had been 'made available. I But the Government did send a team of members of Parliament around the world looking at similar freedom of information laws and a fortnight ago it produced a Green Paper — a consultative document — on iopen government.