Freedom of information
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:07): (99) My question is to the Attorney-General. In the last financial year the Andrews Labor government increased the number of challenges to information commissioner freedom-of-information rulings from 16 to 30, an 87 per cent increase. Why has the Andrews Labor government so sharply increased the number of challenges to rulings by the information commissioner, who is the independent umpire?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:08): I thank Mr Davis for his question, but I do not dictate the legal decisions of individual departments or offices. That would be incredibly inappropriate. In terms of any decisions to exercise people’s legal right, whether they be an individual or a government department, it is a matter for them, and in very many instances it is more than appropriate to challenge decisions that they want to get tested.
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:08): Minister, the 61 challenges to the umpire OVIC’s rulings by the government since 1 July 2020 are a clear sign that the government is determined to keep its secrets secret. How is this model litigant behaviour?
Members interjecting.
The PRESIDENT: Order! Before I call the minister, I could not hear Mr Davis’s question. Could you ask it again – not the secret bit, the question.
David DAVIS: How is this model litigant behaviour?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:09): I thank Mr Davis for his supplementary question. I do not agree that it is a clear sign in the way that you have articulated it at all. I do not receive information. No-one seeks advice from me about whether to challenge a matter under the FOI laws, but there are many reasons that one may seek to challenge FOI that are in the interests of protecting personal information or commercial-in-confidence. There are a number of reasons that it would be appropriate to have these matters tested by an independent umpire, and that independent umpire ain’t me.