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back to archive index13th October 2005 Its Time For Open GovernmentThe Cross City Tunnel is not the only reason for the NSW public to start a discussion about the secrecy of government activities, but it's a very clear example of the problem. Five years ago this was a road that was going to address the problem of congestion in the CBD, paid for by the private sector at 'no cost' to the government. It was always a toll road, so it was always going to cost the public, but until very recently, nobody was able to say exactly how much. Today, it is revealed as another in a long line of bad bargains, along much the same lines as the Airport Line, and several motorway projects.What a pity that the public couldn't run their own eyes over these contracts before they were signed. How many more questions should be asked about the Cross City Tunnel contract? Why is it that we are not allowed to see the Cross City Tunnel contract until the Lane Cove Tunnel has been built? I have asked the Minister for Roads, Mr Joe Tripodi, to publicly release the entire contract with Cross City Motorway (C.C.M.) consortium on the R.T.A. website, but it is more likely that we will hear a familiar refrain - "Commercial In Confidence". This phrase has caused a great deal of concern for those of us who are interested in safeguarding the public interest. Not only are these contracts hidden from the public, they are hidden from the public's elected representatives, with only the minister and relevant bureaucrats being in on the details. How can the public be protected in this kind of environment? The simple answer is that it can't be protected under these terms. We need a different system - one that will put the onus on government to justify hiding something from the public. If the drafters of these contracts knew they would be available for public scrutiny, we wouldn't find ourselves in the kind of situation we are in now over the Cross City Tunnel. Our current system, known as Freedom Of Information, is based on the idea that the public can apply to see documents which may, or may not, be given to them. These documents may, or may not, show them what they wanted to know - bureaucrats can be quite liberal in hiding information contained in the documents if they consider it to be irrelevant to the request. The system that I propose is called Open Government and it is one that reverses the process we have now. Instead of the public having to ask permission to see documents, the government would have to ask permission to hide them. Imagine what a difference that would make to the way these deals are done. Judging by the lack of support for my Open Government Bill in the lower house we can perhaps say that the Labor and Liberal parties are not interested in making this kind of difference. Judging by the latest figures on the rising number of Freedom Of Information requests, the public is less and less happy with the secrecy of government. It is time for Open Government, and it could not come a moment too soon. While the opposition is carrying on about the Cross City Tunnel, some of us remember which party cut the deal over the Airport Line - the Liberals. Neither party has shown themselves to be very clever at dealing with the private sector. A look at the name of the companies that make donations to the Labor and Liberal party coffers is also quite enlightening, and might provide some answers as to why these deals happen the way that they do. It is important to remember that while the public were in the dark about the contracts, the governments that signed them were not. Yrs, |
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