Less than 40 per cent of the ACT government's cabinet records that became publicly accessible in 2023 have been reviewed and released a year on, with officials still determining whether their release is in the public interest.
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Public servants have reviewed 150 of the 380 records that were made available for public request on Canberra Day 2023.
Cabinet documents in the ACT become publicly accessible 10 years after they were created, but each record must be requested before it is reviewed for release.
The Canberra Times requested access to the complete list of records in 2023 once they entered the open access period.
One of the papers released following this request revealed the Economic Development Directorate warned cabinet the case for rapid buses between the city and Gungahlin was "significantly stronger" than light rail.
However, 230 documents from that list are still being reviewed by bureaucrats.
Officials are required to assess the records after they have been requested to determine whether their release "is in the public interest".
"There has been an unprecedented level of interest in accessing executive documents. More executive documents have been released in the last two years than in the previous 10 years combined," an ACT government spokeswoman said.
"While there is no legislated timeframe for the release of executive documents, the ACT government is committed to working through this process as effectively as possible without undermining the required public interest assessment process.
"The remaining executive documents requested for release are under review and will be released once that process has concluded."
The ACT government in September 2023 revealed it would spend $334,000 over two years on a "policy options investigation" to consider the costs and benefits of contemporaneously releasing cabinet information.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has previously said it would be possible to proactively release territory cabinet papers but he could not support a system that forced their release.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee introduced a bill that would have forced the release of cabinet papers within 30 days of their consideration by ministers, but the bill was defeated in the Legislative Assembly.
Special Minister of State Chris Steel had said the bill was "concerning" and an Assembly committee recommended against passing the laws.
In March and April 2021, The Canberra Times made separate requests for 27 cabinet documents, which were not released until December 20, 2021. The documents' release followed a further media enquiry about the progress of the requests.
Previously released cabinet records have revealed how Mr Barr brought forward a list of urban infill sites that would have supported more housing when he was planning minister, and the government's failed attempt at a "hardline" bargaining position with its bus drivers.
The then Liberal ACT government set a 10-year access period for cabinet documents in 2001, after a bill was introduced by independent MLA Michael Moore.
A Legislative Assembly committee had recommended a six-year access period that would not apply retrospectively.
"People are telling us that they believe that governments need to be more open and accountable. We have been told that we are not an open and accountable enough government," then Liberal chief minister Gary Humphries told the Assembly.
"Well, here is the acid test. We are prepared to agree to make our decisions, of any government, available 10 years after they have been made. That seems to me to be a reasonable compromise."
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.
