 |
Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Freedom of Information and Other Legislation Amendment Bill |
![]() |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on May 25 2005 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (3.25 pm):
Firstly, I would like to address the issue of the hypocrisy of both the Liberal Party and the National Party, the now champions of FOI. The member for Toowoomba South famously wheeled a barrow load of documents into a cabinet meeting in Mount Isa when he was the health minister in the Borbidge government. He would probably be the gold medallist when it came to pushing barrows of documents through cabinet meetings. Although it is not quite certain whether he was because it was a pretty hot field, but certainly he was in the final. He is certainly in the final today when it comes to hypocrisy.
Certain provisions of the Legal Profession Regulation 2004 are required to be transferred into the Legal Profession Act 2004 before their expiration on 31 May this year. They relate to the power of the Legal Practice Tribunal to make orders as to costs and the custody and control of records by the admissions board.
Section 643 of the Legal Profession Act provides for the making of regulations for transitional matters for which the LPA does not make sufficient provision. This section and any transitional regulations made under it expire one year after the commencement of the section-that is, on 31 May 2005. Accordingly, sections 33 and 34 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2004 made under that section need to be incorporated into the Legal Profession Act before they expire on 31 May this year. An amendment to the Legal Profession Act also allows for directions hearings of the legal practice committee to be conducted by the chairperson or the deputy chairperson rather than by a full committee of the member. This will provide for more efficient management of the committee business.
In relation to applications by and on behalf of children, there are no express provisions in the FOI Act for applications by parents or guardians on behalf of children. This has created inconsistencies in the way agencies deal with these applications, including in relation to charging. The amendments will standardise procedures by, firstly, requiring applications that purport to be made on behalf of a child to clearly state that fact and state the name of the child and the person who is making the application on the child's behalf. This applies to all applications on behalf of a child. Secondly, they will have to state that, for charging purposes, the application is to be treated as an application by the child; that is, if it is
for personal affairs information relating to the child no charges will apply. Thirdly, they will have to expressly provide that a 'best interests of the child' test will apply to applications on behalf of a child and for applications by the child themselves. If the application is made by the child, the agency or minister must consider whether the child has the capacity to understand the information and the context in which it was recorded and make a mature judgment as to what might be in his or her best interests.
Some public sector employees are asked to make decisions about a large array of matters, including licences and permits. The government recognises this places some public sector employees in a difficult situation because if the details of a report or recommendation are later released under FOI then the decision maker could be subject to personal retribution. This section of the act is designed to protect public sector employees. The government is taking steps to protect these employees from the release of information in the interests of the decision maker and also to ensure a reliable decisionmaking process.
Amendments are therefore to be made in relation to information that could lead to harassment or intimidation. Information relating to prisoner access to risk assessment documents will also be protected from release.
The bill contains a new exemption for information that could reasonably be expected to result in a person being subjected to serious acts of harassment or intimidation. Under the existing FOI Act, information cannot be disclosed if disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger a person's life or physical safety. There are some situations where disclosure falls short of endangering life and safety, such as harassment or intimidation, that may arise as a consequence of an FOI applicant gaining knowledge about information provided by a complainant, an informant or a victim. For example, the potential FOI disclosure of information about a victim of an offence could result in harassment or intimidation of that victim by the alleged perpetrator who applies for access to information about the crime. Harassment or intimidation may include the threat of violence. The public interest is in an informant or victim feeling that they can come forward anonymously in certain circumstances.
In relation to prisoner access to personal information held by Corrective Services, the bill prevents prisoners convicted of a serious violent offence from making an FOI application for risk assessment documents. A risk assessment report is used for the assessment of the risk that an offender may pose to the community or to a Corrective Services facility. These reports are used to determine whether prisoners are released into the community or are an acceptable risk, particularly in relation to 25 May 2005 Freedom of Information and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1655 serious violent offenders or offenders who have been convicted of sexual offences. This exemption will prevent prisoner access to professional reports, for instance by a psychologist used by the parole boards, and to some intelligence information used by Corrective Services. The effectiveness of legislation that seeks to limit the risk to the community of repeat offences, for example the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act, relies on the best information from professionals assigned the responsibility of assessing the risk prisoners may pose on release.
The reports are also relied upon by parole boards in determining whether a prisoner's parole should be suspended or cancelled. Accordingly, a report writer can write frank and fearless reports without fear of retribution from a prisoner who might seek to gain access to documents through FOI. Any compromise to the integrity of these reports may create a risk to the community that is not acceptable to the government. I commend the bill to the House. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 12:00 AM
Back
|
|
