Reports assessing the decisions of two Ministers not to provide information to the Parliament have been published by the Auditor General, Caroline Spencer.
“The default position of a Minister should be one of disclosure when it’s not contrary to the public interest,” Ms Spencer said.
“This is also consistent with the aim of the Freedom of Information Act 1992.”
In one of her Ministerial notification reports Opinion on Ministerial Notification – Hotel Perth Campaign Reports, Ms Spencer found the decision by the Minister for Tourism not to provide Parliament with five post-campaign performance reports in full, and the number of people booking travel as a result of the Hotel Perth Campaign, was “not reasonable and therefore not appropriate”.
Ms Spencer said some of the information was publicly known or not commercially sensitive and, in some cases, there was no obligation of confidence.
“Although the Minister followed the advice of Tourism WA, the advice was not correct,” she said.
“These issues are extremely concerning and reflect poorly on the work undertaken by Tourism WA on this occasion, which is usually of a higher standard in these matters,” Ms Spencer said.
In the second of the reports, Opinion on Ministerial Notification – Release of Schedule of Stumpage Rates, the Auditor General found the decision by the Minister for Forestry not to provide Parliament with all the information used to calculate payments to share-farmers was reasonable and therefore appropriate.
The Auditor General’s first report can be accessed at this PS News link and the second at this link.
