A report into the first year of Australia’s first Open Government National Action Plan 2016–18 has found that substantial progress has been made.
The report by the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is open for public comment.
The IRM said Australia had made substantial progress in completing several commitments in areas such as combatting corporate crime and steps to improve the discoverability of Government data.
It said future action plan development could involve a wider range of interests and include further steps to enhance awareness and support of Open Government initiatives within Government and in the community generally.
Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University School of Law, Daniel Stewart (pictured), who authored the report, said Australia was a participant in the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
He said this was an international multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
“To participate in OGP, Governments must exhibit a demonstrated commitment to open government by meeting a set of minimum performance criteria,” Mr Stewart said.
“Objective, third-party indicators are used to determine the extent of country progress on each of the criteria: fiscal transparency, public officials’ asset disclosure, citizen engagement, and access to information.”
His report made a number of recommendations, including broadening the range of stakeholders and interests reflected in the Open Government process; developing a whole-of-Government approach to enhancing awareness and support for Open Government initiatives; and establishing a collaborative multi-stakeholder forum to work on establishing a Federal anticorruption agency.
The report is open for comment until 24 April, and the 109-page document can be accessed at this PS News link.
