<
https://theconversation.com/governments-are-becoming-increasingly-secretive-heres-how-they-can-be-made-to-be-more-transparent-262012>
"Transparency is vital to our democratic system of government.
It promotes good government, spurring those in power into better practice. Even
when what is revealed is pretty revolting, transparency means those
transgressions are known, and accountability for them can follow.
Transparency is particularly important for people who otherwise do not have
access to government, who are not “in the room” or “at the table”, whether that
be directly or through lobbyists or other connections.
But recent data reveal government transparency in Australia is on the decline.
Given the connection between transparency and a well-functioning democracy,
this is deeply concerning.
The Albanese government’s compliance rate with Senate orders for documents is
the lowest of any government since 2016, and the second-worst of any government
since 1993. Disclosures under freedom of information laws have dropped
dramatically over the past decade.
The problem isn’t a lack of solutions, but that governments appear perpetually
unwilling to open up."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
