Summary
The Albanese government has been marked as more secretive than its predecessor, the Morrison government, by frequently using “public interest immunity” claims to keep documents confidential, according to new research from the Centre for Public Integrity, Australia’s leading anti-corruption think tank. Compliance with Senate orders for document production has dropped from 92% in 1993-96 to just 20% under the current Labor administration. This represents a significant decline in transparency and integrity in Australian politics. Anthony Whealy KC, chair of the Centre, condemned this practice, calling for an end to the abuse of public interest immunity claims. The Centre proposes establishing an Independent Transparency Monitor to review these claims, echoing a system already implemented in NSW. Former independent senator Rex Patrick, who experienced the system’s flaws firsthand, supports this proposal.
This summary comes from The Australian, was written by Stephen Rice, and can be found here.