The slow death of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

By Richard Mulgan
Updated April 23 2018 - 10:46pm, first published August 26 2015 - 5:37pm

In spite of the Abbott government's best efforts, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner still survives, seriously wounded but not yet fatally. In its first budget, the government announced it intended to abolish the office, along with the positions of information commissioner and freedom of information commissioner. Funding was to continue for another six months, to the end of 2014, by which time Parliament would have passed the appropriate legislation. However, while funding was duly cut off, Senate crossbenchers were unwilling to pass the necessary amendments to the Australian Information Commissioner Act. As a result, the main Canberra office was closed down while the information commissioner, Professor John McMillan, worked from home with the help of a few remaining staff in the Sydney office.

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