C.S.U. critical of bill

Press, 9 March 1982, Page 12

C.S.U. critical of bill

PA Wellington The Combined State Unions have termed the bill to allow easier access to Government secrets “inadequate,” saying it makes it “all too easy”, for.official information to be withheld. The C.S.U. was making submissions to a Parliamentary select committee on the Official Information Bill, aimed at repealing the Official Secrets Act and making Government information public unless there is good reason to keep it secret.

The C.S.U. said it welcomed the proposed repeal of the Official Secrets Act, and recognised the bill was a step towards freedom of information. But the submission said the bill was inadequate. ; ; The bill did not guarantee full and easy access to official information, and did,, not provide sufficient provisions to enforce access, the submissions said. It provides Ministers with the final say on whether to release or withhold information, and it contained no provision for making ;classi- ; fied material public after a ; certain amount of time. | “It makes it all too easy [ for official information to be I kept secret,” the C.S.U. said. I ' The bill' also made no j reference to information held

by local bodies and in part it introduced a complex and “very badly worded” set of laws against unauthorised disclosure. The C.S.U. also said the bill could pose a problem in administration and carrying out the provisions. It proposed several amendments to make the bill easier to interpret by the public, and the officials who would have to handle requests made under it. The C.S.U. said it was concerned that public employees with heavy workloads would be expected to process freedom of information' requests in addition to normal duties. “The provision of sufficient staff to enable information to be handled as efficiently and as fully as possible is an absolute prerequisite for freedom of information to ■ succeed,” it said.