A group of civil society organisations have urged the federal government to boost funding and fix the laws surrounding its ‘highly dysfunctional’ FOI system.
The open letter, which was sent to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, today, also calls for an independent investigation into the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the FOI watchdog, following allegations of poor workplace behaviour aired in hearings last year.
Signed by 14 groups, including the Centre for Public Integrity, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Grata Fund and Transparency International Australia and former senator Rex Patrick, the letter called for the federal government to adopt the recommendations outlined in a scathing Senate committee report published in December.