[Greens-Media] FOI laws under attack - urgent

[Freja.Leonard at parliament.vic.gov.au]

Hi All,

Please read the email following below, take action and forward through 
your networks. 
The amendments proposed to the FOI Bill by the Labor Government and 
largely supported by the Liberal and National Parties pretty much threaten 
to take the Freedom out Of the Information. 
If you want more information about the nature of the amendments to the 
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2007 click here.

Apologies for cross postings where they occur.

Thanks for your contribution!

Verdantly,


----- Forwarded by Freja Leonard/Greens/PARL on 11/02/2008 11:08 AM -----

Greg Barber Greens MLC 

To

cc

Subject
FOI laws under attack - urgent






Dear Active Citizen

The State Government is moving to punch a massive hole in the State's 
Freedom of Information laws and we only have two weeks to stop them.  We 
need you to continue being active and lobby members of parliament, in the 
next two weeks, to fix this.

New laws now before the Parliament will give the Government the power to 
apply to VCAT to have someone declared a 'vexatious applicant' and have 
them banned from making FOI applications.  The test for who is 'vexatious' 
is wide open.  It could apply to any active citizen, community group, 
politician or media outlet who regularly lodge FOI applications on the 
important issues they are pursuing. 

Amazingly, these changes will be supported by the Liberals and Nationals. 
So much for the Opposition.

To stop this happening, you must lobby all political parties and this has 
to happen urgently.  This bill will be voted on in the state upper house 
in the week beginning February 26th.  Please lobby the Liberals, 
Nationals, the DLP and the Government, to accept Greens amendments to stop 
ordinary, active citizens being targetted by this law. 

Government departments regularly complain it's a drain on their resources 
to respond to FOI requests.  As you can see below, they'll now use that 
excuse to argue your claim is 'vexatious'.  These changes to the law are 
just the latest effort to make the FOI Act ineffective.  In the internet 
age, why can't most information be put online, so that we don't have to 
ask for it?

If this law gets through as is, we are all under threat.  You or your 
campaign group will have to think very carefully about what you ask for to 
avoid being banned.

Please read the background below and send an email, immediately, to the 
Leaders of the Nationals, Liberals, DLP and the Attorney General.  If this 
email is the first you have heard of this issue, you might want to send a 
letter or make a call to a local or state newspaper or radio station also. 
 And of course forward this email on to others who may be affected or 
concerned.

We can stop this if we all act in the next two weeks!

Greg Barber, Colleen Hartland, Sue Pennicuik, Greens MLCs in the Victorian 
Parliament.



BACKGROUND

The relevant sections of the new law say you are a vexatious applicant if: 


(a) the person has made repeated applications under this Act in relation 
to  the agency or agencies or Minister or Ministers; and 
(b) the repeated applications involve an abuse of the right of access, 
amendment or review under this Act. 
Abuse is defined as .....  "  if the repeated applications were made for 
the purpose or have had the effect of obstructing or otherwise 
unreasonably  interfering with the operations of the agency or agencies."

In other words, if you do too many applications and it's creating too much 
work for them, they can have you banned by applying to VCAT.  Any current 
FOIs you have 
underway will be frozen while this is tested in court.  The Liberals and 
Nationals oppose the freezing, but support the overall proposal.

People to lobby

Liberal:  ted.baillieu at parliament.vic.gov.au
Nationals:  peter.ryan at parliament.vic.gov.au
Attorney General:   rob.hulls at parliament.vic.gov.au
Democratic Labor Party:  peter.kavanagh at parliament.vic.gov.au 

Please also send us an email so that we can update you with developments 
over the next two weeks:  greg.barber at parliament.vic.gov.au

For a copy of the Bill, go to http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au  select 
Parliamentary Documents, then select Bills.  You will see a link for 
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2007. 

For more information, see this excellent Herald Sun editorial 
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/1,9191,23171288-24218,00.html

The Victorian Government Solicitor, before these laws have passed the 
Parliament, has sent a bulletin to the public service urging them to get 
ready to use the new laws.   Listen to this:  "The new provisions seek to 
prevent applicants abusing the FOI system by taking up valuable Tribunal 
time, wasting public resources and harassing agencies who are required to 
respond to their repeated and often substantial applications."
http://www.vgso.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/FIP/FreedomofInformationFOIActAmendments.aspx



-- 
Greg Barber MLC
State Member of Parliament for Northern Metropolitan
Ph: (03) 9348 2622
Facs:  (03) 9348 2699
Suite G01, 60 Leicester Street Carlton 3053
www.electedgreensvictoria.org.au/

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