Four years hard labor on Court Information Bill

Attorney General Hatzistergos in The Australian explains how the NSW Court Information Bill reflects the various interests that go towards public confidence in the justice system and why the government is confident it has struck the right balance, while Susannah Moran elsewhere in the paper claims the bill is far more restrictive in some respects than a proposal put by Chief Justice Spigelman. The Attorney is right about the long gestation period "as the government conducted exhaustive consultations with a range of stakeholders, including media organisations, the courts, the legal profession, privacy advocates and victims groups." Four years since a discussion paper was issued on the subject. Whether  the result, still to come before the Legislative Council, delivers fully on open justice only qualified by necessary restrictions on access and publication of information, I'll leave it to experts.