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publicintegrity.bsky.social
@publicintegrity.bsky.social
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publicintegrity.bsky.social
With the Government moving the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 through the House, the Centre for Public Integrity has published fact-checks addressing recent Government claims made in response to parliamentary questions about the Bill.

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#auspol
November 6, 2025 at 1:25 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
In this report, the Centre assesses the Government’s actions — and inaction — across these key democratic safeguards:

🧐transparency
🎩appointments
🤝limits on undue influence
💪bolstering public service
⚖️supporting institutions that hold power to account.

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#auspol
October 27, 2025 at 7:57 PM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Geoffrey Watson SC, director at the Centre for Public Integrity, said it appeared to be an "entirely understandable, simple error".

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#auspol

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/909036...
This agency refused FOI access to a document, then it released it by mistake
The agency confirmed the administrative error.
www.canberratimes.com.au
October 21, 2025 at 3:50 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Centre for Public Integrity research director Gabrielle Appleby said parliament needed to lead on government oversight rather than purely leaving it to integrity bodies.

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#auspol

thewest.com.au/politics/law...
Senators urged to flex muscles to stop Labor inaction
A Greens senator has offered an olive branch to form an unlikely alliance to hold Labor to account as it fails to comply with document production orders.
thewest.com.au
October 14, 2025 at 5:23 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Join Us Live Online (Now): Anti-Corruption Commissions
Why they are undermined and towards best practice.

eventbrite.com/e/anti-corru...

#auspol
Anti-corruption Commissions conference (online event)
An Accountability Round Table (ART), Centre for Public Integrity (CPI) & Deakin University conference.
eventbrite.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:19 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Opposition Leader, Sussan Ley MP, has written strongly today opposing the FOI reform. The Centre welcomes this position.

This is now an opportunity to reset.

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#auspol

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/908628...
www.canberratimes.com.au
October 12, 2025 at 11:20 PM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
As Catherine Williams and Gabrielle Appleby of the Centre for Public Integrity noted in a piece for The AFR on Tuesday, the Senate inquiry into the bill received “virtually unanimous damning assessments” in its submissions inbox, which closed last week.

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#auspol
crikey.com.au Crikey @crikey.com.au · Oct 8
BREAKING: Crikey understands both the opposition and the crossbench, including the Greens, are opposed to Labor's bill, meaning it will struggle to get through the Senate.
Barely anyone except Labor supports the government's FOI reforms
Those opposed to the tightening of Australia's freedom of information regime are gathering force, meaning Labor will struggle to drag its bill through the Senate.
www.crikey.com.au
October 9, 2025 at 2:13 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
The Centre has four key problems with the FOI reform. A that lacks evidence for justification despite repeated requests.

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www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Lack of clarity as government pushes for FOI reforms - ABC listen
The Attorney-General's Department has been unable to say how many Freedom of Information (FOI) requests come from anonymous or automated sources. The revelation came this week in Senate estimates hea...
www.abc.net.au
October 8, 2025 at 11:01 PM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
In opposition, the prime minister talked a big game on transparency. It’s about time he walked the walk on open government.

~ Opinion piece by the Centre's ED Dr Catherine Williams and Research Director Professor Gabrielle Appleby

#auspol

www.afr.com/politics/fed...
Labor must drop flawed and friendless freedom of information bill
In opposition, the prime minister talked a big game on transparency. It’s about time he walked the walk on open government.
www.afr.com
October 7, 2025 at 6:08 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Australia’s leading integrity, human rights and media freedom organisations have united to denounce the Government’s Freedom of Information Amendment Bill, warning the reforms will lead to greater government secrecy and less accountability.

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#auspol
October 6, 2025 at 12:29 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
William Partlett, Stephen Charles Fellow at the Centre for Public Integrity, says the controversy over Brereton’s Defence consultancy shows a repeated failure to recognise how perceptions of bias erode trust in the NACC.

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#auspol

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2025/10...
Exclusive: Anthony Albanese overruled push for public NACC hearings
The Saturday Paper can reveal that the prime minister and other ministers from NSW intervened in cabinet to constrain the operations of the country’s leading integrity body.
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au
October 3, 2025 at 11:15 PM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
"Labor’s controversial changes to FOI laws risk “deliberately enshrining secrecy and obfuscation”, with the Centre for Public Integrity raising fresh alarm over the government’s apparent attempt to keep more documents secret."

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#auspol

www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/polit...
www.theaustralian.com.au
September 29, 2025 at 11:38 PM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Director of the Centre for Public Integrity Geoffrey Watson says he was disappointed by Commissioner Brereton's consultancy for the IGADF.

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www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

#auspol
Anti-corruption chief kept consulting role after saying he had resigned
The head of the national anti-corruption commission told a Senate inquiry he had resigned his role at the defence force's investigative arm. But the ABC has learned he continued consulting for them, a...
www.abc.net.au
September 29, 2025 at 6:55 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Media release: Tasmania Leads on Transparency as Canberra Winds Back Australians’ Right to Know

#auspol
September 24, 2025 at 5:45 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
There's only been 15 sitting days since the election in May, and in those 15 days there have been 30 mentions of the Centre's report in Parliament

~ Senator David Pocock introducing the Centre's Executive Director, Dr Catherine Williams

#auspol

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3cx...
Town Hall #3 - Transparency
YouTube video by David Pocock
www.youtube.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:04 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Want to know more what the proposed FOI changes mean and what top experts think of them?

Join us for an excellent (and free) webinar at 12.30pm on Monday 22 September

Featuring:

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#auspol

www.eventbrite.com.au/e/foi-at-a-c...
FOI at a Crossroads: Progress or Attack?
Co-hosted by the UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law and the Centre for Public Integrity.
www.eventbrite.com.au
September 16, 2025 at 12:12 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
"Everyone agreed that the FOI legislation is in need of updating. And so we were anticipating this legislation..."

~ the Centre's Head of Research Prof Gabrielle Appleby

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#auspol

www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...
Does the federal government have a secrecy problem?
The federal government is facing scrutiny over proposed changes to Freedom of Information Laws that critics say will reduce transparency and damage trust in the government. With claims this government...
www.sbs.com.au
September 9, 2025 at 12:51 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Centre for Public Integrity head of research Gabrielle Appleby said Ms Rowland’s promise to remove barriers to public servants delivering “frank and fearless” advice was a reference to the widening of exemptions for cabinet documents.

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#auspol

www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/lawye...
www.theaustralian.com.au
September 4, 2025 at 7:00 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Professor Gabrielle Appleby, Head of Research at the Centre, discussed transparency concerns in relation to the proposed FOI amendments:

youtu.be/lRlwZiGxA0Y?...

#auspol
Transparency concerns over plans to tighten FOI laws | ABC NEWS
YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)
youtu.be
September 4, 2025 at 6:35 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Media release from the Centre on the Federal Government's FOI Amendment Bill

#auspol
September 3, 2025 at 4:19 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
Retired Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy KC, the chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, said he believed there was a “big question mark” over the deal.

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#auspol

www.theage.com.au/politics/que...
Call for probe into mayor’s purchase of controversial Surfers Paradise site
Tom Tate and his business partners have been trying to develop the site, once owned by Gold Coast City Council, for at least a decade.
www.theage.com.au
August 27, 2025 at 6:05 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
In 2018, the Senate Select Committee on the Political Influence of Donations Report companies explained that some or the majority of political donations made by them were as a ‘fee-for-service’

A 🧵on some examples of the access we know fossil fuel interests buy.

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#auspol
August 26, 2025 at 2:40 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
This afternoon in the Senate, the Opposition and crossbench supported @davidpocock.bsky.social's order to produce the Briggs public sector board appointments review.

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#auspol
August 25, 2025 at 6:46 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
The statements reported today from the Shooters Unions are a rare public revelation of the work of many of these lobbyists – how organised they are, their objectives, their strategy, and how influential they perceive that they are with govt

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#auspol

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australia’s gun lobby says it’s ‘winning’ the fight against firearm control as numbers surge
There are now more than 4m guns in the community – almost double the number recorded in the years after the Port Arthur massacre that prompted a national crackdown
www.theguardian.com
August 25, 2025 at 2:28 AM
publicintegrity.bsky.social
"The telling part of all of this is that they made a decision to redact, even though they were in doubt as to whether they had the power to do so"
~ Centre director Geoffrey Watson SC

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#auspol

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...
Senior official suggested right-to-information redaction may not 'stack up'
A senior government official questioned why certain information was being redacted in a document about children being held in Tasmanian watch-houses. Despite not containing information that would iden...
www.abc.net.au
August 14, 2025 at 5:55 AM