The ACT government has been reviewing systems adopted in Queensland and New Zealand to proactively release cabinet papers, which have done away with long-term secrecy provisions.
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The Canberra Liberals will on Wednesday introduce a bill to the Legislative Assembly that would require the government to release cabinet records within 30 days after they are considered.
A government spokeswoman said the proposed laws would be examined in detail but the government was not seeking to fundamentally change or undermine cabinet government.
"The government has already been reviewing the implementation of similar reforms in Queensland and New Zealand to determine how practical it would be for the ACT to adopt this approach to many cabinet documents," the spokeswoman said.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said the ACT needed a more open government because it did not have the oversight of an upper house.
"A culture of secrecy [has been] fostered by this Labor-Greens government that has been in power for 21 years and routinely hides their failures their failures from the public by refusing freedom of information requests on the grounds they contain cabinet material," Ms Lee said.
Ms Lee said her bill would mirror the New Zealand policy, which came into effect in 2018. It would offer exemptions to prevent material being released that would cause risks to safety, affect ongoing criminal investigations or be contrary to the public interest.
"If this Labor-Greens government has nothing to hide and is serious about being transparent with Canberrans, they must support this bill," she said.
The government spokeswoman said the government was committed to promoting the disclosure of public information in the public interest.
"This includes our $6.5 million investment to improve the system, including 12 new full-time positions to support the transparent processing of information across the government," she said.
MORE A.C.T. POLITICS NEWS:
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has previously said it would be possible the ACT could adopt a proactive release model for cabinet papers - but decisions would need to be taken first and he could not support a system that forced material to be made public.
Cabinet papers are made available after 10 years in the ACT but individual documents need to be requested from the cabinet office, a process which can result in significant delays in the material being released.
In an Australian-first, the ACT government began uploading the summary of decisions taken following cabinet meetings to the internet in 2011.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this year accepted a recommendation from a wide-ranging public sector review that found cabinet material should be proactively released within 30 days of final decisions.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
