Spin costs, regardless

activatecricket.com.au

Whether spin is government business in Victoria - more correctly, whether ministerial media plans are ministers' documents subject to the Freedom of Information Act - will be resolved by VCAT, but former speaker Ken Coghill is right, in theory at least, that if it isn't, the party not the taxpayer should be paying for this function. David Rood of The Age recaps the evidence in the case and concludes  "(w)in or lose the government's legal argument fails the common sense test."

Meanwhile the Opposition in NSW has used the law to find $4.3 million in spin costs, amid claims that the government tried to block FOI requests for this information.The SMH reports "The Department of Premier and Cabinet advises it did not attempt to block access to this information. It was deferred until the expiry of a standard review period, and then released.'' Not sure what this means - maybe consultation with those concerned prior to release?

Information that could have kicked off that empty DPC Disclosure Log?