Media Release 9 February 2009:
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today announced a national two day phone-in and new online discussion forum as part of its commitment to engaging in widespread community consultation on reform of Commonwealth secrecy laws.
Anyone who has ever been involved in handling Commonwealth information will have the chance to speak out about their personal experiences and concerns in a national secrecy phone-in on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February. The ALRC is also launching a new consultation vehicle through its Talking Secrecy online forum.
ALRC President, Professor David Weisbrot, said "Consultation is part of the ALRC's DNA and we are determined to use new technologies to expand that process. The online forum and national phone-in together comprise the next critical steps in the ALRC's consultation process following the recent release of the Issues Paper, Review of Secrecy Laws (IP 34, 2008). This paper seeks feedback about how to balance the need to maintain an open and transparent government, while still protecting some Commonwealth documents and information—for the purposes of national security, for example.
"The ALRC now has mapped over 500 secrecy provisions spread across 173 pieces of legislation and these—associated with a myriad of administrative, civil and criminal penalties—present a complex and confusing scenario of options for individuals handling Commonwealth information.
"Some secrecy provisions—normally pertaining to defence and security—regulate the activities of anyone, including the media, who comes into possession of Commonwealth documents or information, imposing obligations on them. If the individual handles the information incorrectly, he or she may face heavy penalties, including jail."
Commissioner-in-charge of the Secrecy Inquiry, Professor Rosalind Croucher, said that the phone-in will enable individuals to speak about their personal experiences with complete anonymity and will assist in shaping the development of proposals, and ultimately recommendations, for workable laws and practices.
"To facilitate more public discussion about secrecy laws, the ALRC's Talking Secrecy online forum will encourage interactive comments and debate that will run the course of the Inquiry. This is a first for the ALRC.
"The ALRC would like to hear people's views about a range of questions such as: do secrecy laws stop you from doing your job; what information, if any, should be kept secret; how easy is it to comply with secrecy laws; when should you be allowed to disclose Commonwealth information; and have you or someone you know been in trouble for breaching a secrecy law and, if so, what happened?"
To participate in the secrecy phone-in call 1800 760 291 between 8:00am and 8:00pm (EST) on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February 2009 (calls are free from landlines but calls from mobiles will incur a charge).
The Talking Secrecy online forum can be accessed at http://talk.alrc.gov.au.
More information about the Review of Secrecy Laws can be found in the Inquiries section of this website.
3 comments:
Damn you clarencegirl!
;-)
Beat me to it. I've been working a post up myself but have been out of action through illness.
Did you get the notice in your intray because you registered, or have you just be reading RSS and browsing with great diligence?
My post concentrates on the process of this inquiry in comparison to Conroy's "consultation blog", and hopes that other agencies/departments will use the ALRC as a guide, and that later the gov will create a proper consolidated search/announcement/RSS across the entire government.
See Phone-in and blog launched by Oz Law Reform Commission
Hi Dave,
If it's any consolation - I've heard that your post on the Senate inquiry into the Stimulus II package has resulted in a few more submissions reaching the FPA standing committee.
Although they don't all appear to be listed yet.
I've reviewed some more of the submissions here by some real heavyweights... glad my musings in other posts show I'm not a complete idiot!
Also, glad to know some others gave got off their backsides at my prompting. Care to pass on ideas about numbers ... you have my email or you can add depersonalized info as a comment to my alert post. (And remind them that with a comment, they can get into my hall-of-fame page!)
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