In the Letters page in the Sydney Morning Herald on 25-26 February Miles Lane of Roseville urged greater transparency regarding government contracts: “What can be so confidential about a simple construction contract to build a tunnel, road or desalination plant?”
He said that all such documents should be made readily available on line and that he would vote for a government that supported such a system.
With NSW Parliament resuming tomorrow he may get a chance to see where the Government stands on this issue. As mentioned in this blog on 10 February “Disclosure of Government contracts”, the independent member for Bligh, Clover Moore has a Bill before Parliament which will require state and local government organisations to disclose specified information about contracts on their website within 90 days.
Will the Government bring on debate on this Bill or let it languish like many other private member bills? Will the Government vote differently than it did on the last occasion similar legislation was before the Parliament when it voted against such mandatory disclosure requirements?
This blog takes an interest in issues associated with Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy legislation in Australia. Information contained on this site is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Follow Peter Timmins on Twitter: @foiguru Follow the open government cause through the Australian Open Government Partnership Network. www.opengovernment.org.au and @opengovau
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