No decision on publication of Danks report

Press, 23 January 1981, Page 4

No decision on publication of Danks report

Parliamentary reporter

No decision has yet been f|made on when the first report of the Danks Corhfimittee on the Freedom of I, Information will be publish[ied. .1 The report, which was Jgiven to the Prime Minister I (Mr Muldoon.) before Christ;mas, has been studied i briefly by the Cabinet and is now before a special Cabinet committee. Mr Muldoon has said that the report will be published, but just when is not yet known, fn the meantime, the Danks Committee is preparing a further report. ‘ The Government was using its executive power to (keep secret the Danks Comimittee report on freedom of (information — the final irony, said the Labour mem!ber of Parliament for Christchurch Central, Mr G. W. Palmer, yesterday. Mr Palmer said that the Cabinet had discussed the Danks Committee report and set up a special committee i

Ito consider it, but members lof Parliament and the public were kept in ignoraricb of its contents. “It has deliberately given the Executive branch a head start, <f clear advantage in determining how the issues are presented and hoW they, will be decided. The public must be permitted to study it before their attitudes are softened up by a Prime Min-, isterial press statement,” Mr Palmer said.

Mr Muldoon was fobbing off the issue by saying that treatment of the subject was like fighting a feather pillow, Mr Palmer said. “There is no shortage of hard-head-ed analysis of the issue, and a great deal of literature exists on it,” he said.

Some matters could dealt with without legislation. The Government. could order all manuals used in Government departments to be made available to the public and news media. This alone would make a substantial difference.