Australia has joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) - but will that make a difference?

The international Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder international initiative created to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance according to the Australian Government.

The Gillard Government committed to this organisation's principles on 22 May 2013:

OGP was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens.  Since then, OGP has grown from 8 countries to the 70 participating countries. 

According to the France and the World Resources Institute Co-Chair Declaration for OGP, October 2016 - September 2017; Establishing an open government is essential for the renewal of democracy and public action. Open government is building a world where increased government transparency and stronger accountability to citizens leads to greater prosperity and wellbeing. A world in which access to information restores faith in government and rekindles a desire among citizens to engage with public officials and build trust. A world where open government means government for the people and which serves the larger public interest. A world where collective wisdom reinforces public action to address the great challenges facing our planet.

Unfortunately the level of redactions in Freedom of Information (FOI) documents supplied by Australian federal governments to date frequently makes a mockery of these aims.

Right to Know is a website dedicated to Australian requests for information made under FOI legislation.

If readers are interested they may browse the available requests as well as documents supplied here.