The Australian Communications and Media Authority denied The Australian access to a report to the Federal Government in June, outlining community opinions on what new media services should feature on spare digital television channels. It claimed the report was exempt as an internal working document, attracted legal professional privilege, included confidential information and might disclose "the commercial or financial affairs of an organisation".
Maybe this sort of defensive attitude from media regulators comes with the territory - it seems they don't like their "thinking process" documents disclosed to the outside world.
As this report from the US says, the Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage.
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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