EP 02: Freedom of information in government: the facts

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In 2015 Peter Timmins led the establishment of the Australian Open Government Partnership Network, an organization designed to assist the government in its approach to open governance. As part of the multilateral Open Government Partnership, Peter shares with us behind-the-scenes of our involvement with the partnership and Australia’s open government future.

With a career spanning close to 30 years as a freedom of information lawyer, Peter has played significant roles in assisting government departments, both state and federal, in law and policy. These efforts were recognized in 2017 and were awarded the Press Freedom Medal by the Australian Press Council.

Discussed in this episode:

• • The history of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and how Australia became involved
  • What the OGP is aiming to achieve and how Australia is moving towards those goals
  • The direction Australia is taking and shortcomings in our approach
  • How we can perfect this approach and using champions to do so
  • The use of storytelling to engage citizens and build trust in the community