Australian Open Government

Australian Open Government Partnership Civil Society Network

News and notes

Australia trending down in Corruption Perceptions score

22nd February 2018 – News

Media release: Transparency International Australia Australia, 22 February 2018 – The Corruption Perceptions Index released today by Transparency International shows that Australia has fallen again in the CPI score. Despite attempts to combat corruption around the world, the majority of countries are moving too slowly in their efforts – including Australia, who has continued to…

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OGP looking for regional Asia Pacific support officer

16th February 2018 – News

From Paul Maassen, Director, Civil Society Engagement Open Government Partnership Support Unit “We are looking for a resourceful individual with strong experience and understanding of the governance field to serve as a Asia-Pacific Senior Program Officer at the OGP Support Unit. The candidate should have knowledge of the inner workings of government – including the…

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Hope and disappointment: Progress on Implementation of Australia’s National Action Plan

11th February 2018 – Uncategorised

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…

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OGP Global Summit 2018

10th January 2018 – Uncategorised

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…

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Australia’s First OGP Plan: A long circuitous journey

20th December 2017 – Resources

Open Government Partnership Civil Society Network, in collaboration with open gov advocate Nook Studios, created this process pathway in 2016. The Open Government Pathway illustrates the highlights of the story from August 2011 when Australia was invited to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP), to the start of the creation of the first National Action…

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Open Contracting-a key tool in the fight against corruption

7th December 2017 – Points of View

Australia committed to undertake a review of existing compliance with the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) with a view to increase  compliance, but to date there has been little public discussion, debate or action. Elsewhere open contracting is a hot anti-corruption topic as  Sanjay Pradhan CEO OGP explained in remarks at Open Contracting Partnership conference…

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OGP responds to individual’s complaint, no violation of values and principles

19th October 2017 – Uncategorised

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…

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International OGP Civil Society Co-chair on Rebuilding Trust

17th October 2017 – Uncategorised

 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…

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Australia failing to join domestic and international dots in support of the OGP

11th October 2017 – Uncategorised

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…

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Government’s mid-term assessment short on shortcomings

11th October 2017 – Uncategorised

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…

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