Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Oxley. I know he is a very enthusiastic advocate of electoral reform. I always welcome the opportunity to speak on the government’s reform record on freedom of information policy and electoral reform. When the Rudd government won office, the privacy and FOI policy branch was moved from the Attorney-General’s portfolio into the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. I know this is a little bit indulgent, but I would like to pay tribute to Senator John Faulkner, who was then Cabinet Secretary and Minister of State and a key driver of many of the reforms that have since been initiated by the Rudd government. Since then the Rudd government has introduced a number of reforms to the FOI Act as we recognised that it is in need of reform. As a government we are committed to giving better access through easier and less formal means. Anyone outside the government was subjected to a decade of secrecy under the Howard government. John Hartigan is not often referred to as a friend of mine and I notice that he and I have apparently become buddies by association by a tabloid called vexnews, a very fine, interesting blog. He referred to the previous government earlier this year as the most secretive government we have ever had, even in war time. I think that reinforces why the reforms were needed and brought about by the Rudd government. As part of our reforms we are reducing the access period to several forms of information, such as amending the Archives Act to reduce access to various records from 30 to 20 years. For cabinet notebooks the period will be reduced from 50 years to 30.

Another significant FOI related reform relates to the introduction of the Office of the Information Commissioner. The Office of the Information Commissioner will bring together the independent oversight functions for privacy protection and access to government information. We are creating two new statutory positions in the form of an Information Commissioner and Freedom of Information Commissioner. These are important reforms in promoting a culture of disclosure and meeting important election commitments.

As a government we have also introduced a number of measures that will make the Commonwealth Electoral Act fairer and more inclusive as well as implement efficiencies and make the day-to-day operations of the Australian Electoral Commission easier. The reforms we have introduced restore integrity and transparency to the electoral act after its integrity was undermined by the Howard government. One of the important reforms we have introduced comes out of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters report on the conduct of the 2007 federal election and matters related thereto. It goes to proof of identity requirements for enrolling, reduces the age at which people can provisionally enrol as well as a range of other amendments. The recommendations of the JSCEM report will bring the Commonwealth Electoral Act into the 21st century.

We are committed to implementing policies we committed to in opposition and restoring the integrity of Australia’s electoral system and FOI acts. We are committed to making information easy to access and to making government operations more transparent. I know my colleague Senator Faulkner in particular and now Senator Ludwig have been working assiduously in this regard. I am reminded again of John Hartigan’s comment—and it is very unusual these days to be on the same page as John Hartigan—that the Howard government was the most secretive government we have had, even in wartime. Having seen these reforms being put forward and executed, it is an honour to be part of a government that is so truly committed to reform and to delivering on the commitments it has made, particularly in this area.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Remainder of bill—by leave—taken as a whole and agreed to.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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