Australia failing to join domestic and international dots in support of the OGP
Despite the international reach of the Open Government Partnership now to 75 countries, Australia a fully committed member since November 2015 is yet to play a role in progressing OGP goals internationally and maintains a low almost invisible role in the partnership.
Although the government mentions democracy as a shared value on which it wishes to test new arrivals, it isn’t a subject that arises in Prime Minister Turnbull’s meetings with the leaders of other countries, members of the OGP or otherwise.
The only mention of the shared interest in the OGP is in a joint statement issued after meeting NZ Prime Minister English in February-and it was limited to open data:
“The Prime Ministers agreed on the importance of public data in driving innovation, improving government services, and transforming policy outcomes. There is scope to build stronger cross-Tasman collaboration to facilitate knowledge sharing between the two countries, and find new and innovative ways to use and disseminate public data. The two Prime Ministers agreed that Australia and New Zealand will collaborate on public data initiatives to better align agendas, share lessons learnt on best practice, and work together on data commitments as part of the Open Government Partnership.”
The words ‘Open Government Partnership’ are yet to pass the lips of Minister for Foreign Affairs Bishop.
And with the minister in New York for Leaders Week at the UN General Assembly recently, the Australian seat at the OGP side event “Rebuilding Trust in Government” went unoccupied, continuing a pattern from last year and the year before when Australia put the invitation to the annual OGP UNGA event in the ‘give it a miss’ pile.
With trust in government here at an historic low and satisfaction with democracy half what it was a decade ago, you would think the minister or someone from our delegation to the UN which included parliamentarians Warren Entsch and Gavan Marshall might have found discussion there interesting and relevant. President Macron and others who managed to attend thought so.
Australia’s low profile in the OGP is noted by others as questions arise about who will step forward to lead.
Canada and Georgia are currently in the chair.
Another missed opportunity is to publicly draw together our OGP plans and the Sustainable Development Goals despite these fine words that allude to this in Australia’s national action plan:
The National Action Plan will support the achievement of the SDGs in Australia and globally, in particular Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and effective institutions (which includes targets directly related to a range of commitments in this Plan, such as promoting the rule of law, substantially reducing corruption and bribery, and ensuring public access to information). Australia strongly advocated for this goal, which will be critical for the success of the entire 2030 Agenda.
Australia will also endorse the Joint Declaration on Open Government for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This commits us to transparency, openness and accountability in our domestic and international implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also commits us to look for opportunities in future National Action Plans to progress implementation of the SDGs.
As a member of the Open Government Partnership, we also note our responsibility to work globally to fight corruption, empower citizens and enhance transparency and integrity. We will continue to work with other countries to help achieve these goals, including through our support for the effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Australia, our region and beyond. Australia will also continue to participate actively in forums such as the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and OECD Development Assistance Committee networks on governance, conflict and fragility.”
We’ve heard nothing publicly since about any of that.
The SDGs commit Australia and 192 other countries “to take an array of actions that would not only address the root causes of poverty, but would also increase economic growth and prosperity and meet people’s health, education and social needs, while protecting the environment.” Goal 16 for example includes a number of social justice goals that are relevant to the OGP agenda-transparency, open government, anti-corruption, civic participation – including
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime,
Government information so far tells us nothing about Australia’s plans at home or abroad to act to progress the SDGs.
The SDG Index and Dashboard prepared by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the German think tank Bertelsmann Stiftung ranks countries’ performance in advancing the SDGs using a set of 77 indicators. In 2016 we were ranked 20th in the world. In the 2017 Index we slipped to 26th.
Prime Minister Turnbull at the Pacific Islands Forum recently announced Australia will “continue to build strong relationships between governments, communities and businesses in the Pacific through a new $2 million, two-year Pacific Connect pilot program. This program will bring together Pacific and Australian leaders across the public and private sectors to learn from each other; the first year’s focus will be on ‘Bringing the Digital Revolution to the Pacific’.
Bringing the Digital Revolution could encompass a regional initiative to assist countries to qualify for membership of the OGP.
The only pacific members of the partnership are Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Most other countries in the region at present would struggle to qualify.
Talking the talk and walking the walk to promote democracy and improvements here and in Asia as well as the Pacific would be clearly in our interests.
Extract from Australia’s first National Action Plan
“This National Action Plan focuses on domestic initiatives, but Australia also plays an important role in promoting more effective governance in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
We will continue to support countries in our region to build institutions that promote stability, inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction and gender equality. We will also maintain our support for strengthened dialogue between governments, non-government organisations, the public and the private sector, so that they can make legitimate demands of their governments.
Australia’s development cooperation program supports a diverse range of countries, from highly populous Indonesia to the micro-states of the Pacific. Australia therefore tailors its cooperation to address the varied economic, political and social factors constraining effective governance in each country context, including through:
· reducing opportunities for corruption by strengthening checks and balances, access to information and complaints processes;
· assisting partner governments to reform tax policy and administration and improve public financial management;
· strengthening regulatory and legal environments so that businesses have greater certainty and predictability;
· supporting the public and businesses to resolve disputes through formal legal systems, alternative mechanisms or institutions that combine both;
· promoting gender equality and enhancing women’s voice in decision-making, leadership and peace-building; and
· building coalitions and opportunities for discussion across government, business, non-government organisations and the public to improve public policy and government accountability.
Australia is committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development. The National Action Plan will support the achievement of the SDGs in Australia and globally, in particular Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and effective institutions (which includes targets directly related to a range of commitments in this Plan, such as promoting the rule of law, substantially reducing corruption and bribery, and ensuring public access to information). Australia strongly advocated for this goal, which will be critical for the success of the entire 2030 Agenda.
Australia will also endorse the Joint Declaration on Open Government for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This commits us to transparency, openness and accountability in our domestic and international implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also commits us to look for opportunities in future National Action Plans to progress implementation of the SDGs.
As a member of the Open Government Partnership, we also note our responsibility to work globally to fight corruption, empower citizens and enhance transparency and integrity. We will continue to work with other countries to help achieve these goals, including through our support for the effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Australia, our region and beyond. Australia will also continue to participate actively in forums such as the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and OECD Development Assistance Committee networks on governance, conflict and fragility.”
