Crossbench senators, including David Leyonhjelm and Nick Xenophon, say they will oppose bill to abolish the office of the Australian information commissioner

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Crossbench senators have restated their opposition to the federal government’s plans to abolish Australia’s freedom of information and privacy watchdog, and have called on the attorney general, George Brandis, to withdraw the stalled push.

In October 2014 the Australian government put forward a bill to abolish the office of the Australian information commissioner (OAIC). The body hears reviews and complaints on freedom of information matters and performs a range of privacy- related functions.

But the bill has been unable to muster support in the Senate, with Labor, the Greens and a number of crossbench senators opposed.

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A year after the bill was introduced into the federal parliament, a number of crossbench senators have reiterated to Guardian Australia that they will continue to refuse to support the bill. They are: the independent senator John Madigan, the Liberal Democratic party senator David Leyonhjelm, the independent senator Nick Xenophon and the Family First senator Bob Day.

It is understood Xenophon wrote to Brandis this week calling for the bill to be withdrawn to end the uncertainty surrounding the office.

The opposition of four of the eight crossbench senators means the federal government does not have the numbers to pass the abolition bill in the Senate. Six of the eight senators must support the government’s legislation if Labor and the Greens do not support it.

Madigan said: “Freedom of information laws are central to ensuring government transparency and accountability and provide a safeguard against corruption.

“The establishment of the OAIC by the former Labor government was a positive step aimed at strengthening the federal FOI regime and thereby fostering a stronger culture of government openness and accountability.

“While there have been issues with delay in the review process undertaken by the OAIC, this is not sufficient justification for the government’s attempts to abolish it.

“In any event, it appears the bill does not have sufficient support to pass the Senate. Therefore the bill should be withdrawn and full funding restored to the OAIC to ensure it is able to properly fulfil its functions.

“The current situation where the OAIC remains underfunded and threatened with abolition is completely unacceptable and must be resolved.”

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Day said: “We support the free flow of information and have a strong track record on freedom of information issues in South Australia. A good government has nothing to fear from transparency.

“The best information culture in government is an open one, where it doesn’t get ‘pulled’ into publishing information via FOI but instead publishes it regularly for all to see.

“The ‘push’ culture results in less of the frivolous, vexatious or laborious FOI requests that come with the current ‘pull’ culture, because data would already be public and just needs to be analysed.”

Leyonhjelm is also understood to oppose the bill. He has previously told the Senate that the OAIC “helps ensure transparent government and access to freedom of information and is a worthwhile agency”.

It is not known whether senators Ricky Muir, Dio Wang and Glenn Lazarus would support the bill.

The plans to abolish the OAIC have been criticised by numerous legal groups, journalists and advocacy organisations. The Australian Human Rights Commission described the proposed model in the bill as “unworkable”.



