14th September 2017
Two parliamentary committee reports released today are linked to commitments in Australia’s OGP National Action Plan. OGP National Action Plan Commitment 4.2 National Integrity Framework “Australia will strengthen its ability to prevent, detect and respond to corruption in the public sector.” Senate Select Committee on National Integrity Commission Advocates for establishing a commission are disappointed that…
12th September 2017
As part of a reshuffle at the top of the Australian Public Service last week, Steven Kennedy Deputy Secretary Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Co-chair of the Interim Working Group and its successor body, the Open Government Forum, was appointed Secretary Department of Infrastructure and Regional Services. Tom Burton writing in The Mandarin said…
11th September 2017
The Australian Government doesn’t have a great record for visible public support for the Open Government Partnership. In the only ministerial involvement to date, Minister for Finance Cormann attended one day at the OGP Global Summit in Paris last December. Let’s hope this event hosted by President Macron of France draws the PM if he’s in New…
15th August 2017
There is a strong international movement promoting open government contracting-publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on government contracting to engage citizens and businesses in identifying and fixing problems. The Open Contracting Global Principles gather norms and best practices for disclosure and participation in public procurement. They serve as a guide to advance open…
11th August 2017
The rules of the OGP require the preparation and publication of an independent review report that assesses the development and implementation of the OGP national action plan and progress in fulfilling open government principles. The appointed independent Research Monitor for Australia, Daniel Stewart of Australian National University, is now in the process of preparing a mid term assessment. Daniel is interested in hearing from…
24th July 2017
The Department of Industry Innovation and Science the lead agency on Commitment 5.2 has published a Working draft on the first phase of its implementation of the commitment titled ‘How might the APS better use public participation to improve policy development and service delivery?’ The draft report, a work in progress, asserts that Commonwealth agencies lag…
24th July 2017
The Senate Select Committee on a National Integrity Commission hearing on 5 July on the adequacy of the Australian government’s framework for addressing corruption and misconduct (Commitment 4.2 in Australia’s OGP National Action Plan) included the following Q&A about the Open Government Partnership: ABLETT, Ms Maia, Acting Assistant Secretary, Legal Policy Branch, Department of the…
11th July 2017
Published on the AUSPUBLAW Blog today Australia’s commitment to open government reform 11/07/2017 / AUSPUBLAW / 0 COMMENTS BY PETER TIMMINS The voters aren’t happy. While there is no single antidote for this winter of discontent, the way government governs is a contributing factor. The government tells us that belief in democracy is a shared Australian value and as part…
16th June 2017
The two new civil society members to join the international Steering Committee are Giorgi Kldiashvili Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), an NGO based in Georgia, and Tur-Od Lkhagvajav who holds several leading civil society positions in Mongolia. Congratulations to both, and thanks to Ken Coghill, current Chairman of the…
9th June 2017
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has announced details of the establishment of the Open Government Forum and called for civil society nominations by 22 June. (Commitment 5.1 in Australia’s National Action Plan.) The Selection Panel to consider nominations and make recommendations to government on appointment will consist of the Co-Chairs of the Interim…