27th April 2018
The independent report on Australia’s progress in implementing its first OGP National Action Plan by Daniel Stewart of Australian national University is a wake-up call to government and civil society. The report’s key messages are we didn’t do much of a job in bringing the citizenry into a dialogue about open government reform; none of…
9th April 2018
The Open Government Partnership is organising a global Open Government Week from May 7-11 to raise interest in open government and encourage government and civil society to come together to listen to each other’s ideas, discuss solutions, and commit to taking action. “The week will feature all things #opengov and include panel discussions, Facebook chats,…
11th February 2018
A survey of members of the network reveals disappointment with the limited progress made on some commitments and the failure of most lead agencies to engage with civil society in a way that reflects the true spirit of partnership. What follows is an assessment of progress on the 15 commitments in the National Action Plan…
10th January 2018
Georgia, co-chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), will host the 5th OGP Global Summit in Tbilisi on July 17-19, 2018. The OGP 2018 Global Summit will focus on civic engagement, fighting against corruption, and public service delivery. The objectives of the Summit are to promote peer learning, inspire OGP reformers to raise the level…
19th October 2017
In September last year, Chris Snow a member of this network sent a letter of concern to the international OGP Steering Committee Co-Chairs regarding the consultation process and the Interim Working Group appointed by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to help draft Australia’s first OGP action plan, utilising the OGP’s published Response…
17th October 2017
Mukelani Dimba is the civil society co-chair of the OGP Steering Committee. He is the Executive Director of the Open Democracy Advice Center (ODAC), a South African law center that specializes in freedom of information and whistleblower protection laws ……………………. It is a pleasure to share my first blog post as civil society co-chair of…
11th October 2017
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…
11th October 2017
On 22 September Minister for Finance Cormann signed the Government Mid-term report required by OGP rules. The report is published on the PM&C website, (No Media release- this was yet another missed opportunity to draw attention to Australia’s open government commitments.) It is a detailed report about development of the plan and implementation to date, but shortcomings…
21st September 2017
Watch passionate advocacy for improved democratic practices and their role in improving trust in government. Featuring OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan, President Macron of France, Prime Minister Kvirikashvili of Georgia, President Kaljulaid of Estonia, Prime Minister Gruevski of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Vice President Echeverríai of Costa Rica, Vice-President Timmermans of the European Commission.. and others.…
18th September 2017
The following comments on the PM&C Draft Mid Term Assessment Report were submitted on 17 September. (The self assessment is required by OGP rules and is separate from the Progress Review by Independent Reviewer Daniel Stewart now underway .) “The Australian Open Government Partnership Network and its members have been and remain enthusiastic supporters of the…