Plus ca change.......

Then again some justifications for decisions to withhold information being put forward by members of Mr Rudd's own government have a depressing familiar ring. Like this from Parliamentary Secretary Jan McLucas who told the Senate yesterday why a Freedom of Information request for a report prepared by a CSIRO expert on the potential marine impact of effluent from the proposed Gunns paper mill had been refused by a departmental official

"The document sought by Senator Milne contains material that is preliminary and based on a number of assumptions. The document was not commissioned by any person and has not been peer reviewed or validated by field data. Dr Herzfeld states in the document that the modelling undertaken is unverified for accuracy. There is a strong likelihood that the material in the document could erroneously be interpreted or presented as final rather than preliminary or as based on fact rather than assumptions. The discussion based on such an interpretation or presentation could mislead the public and create uncertainty, pressure and complexity for Gunns Ltd in its dealings with its stakeholders, including the general public."

Thanks to OpenAustralia.org for the great new alerts on activity in the Parliament