Access to Information Bill to be debated in Parliament next month

The Access to Information Bill to give the right to access to information for individuals, companies and the government, will be debated in Parliament next month.

The Bill was tabled in Parliament by Attorney General, Graham Leung.

The Information Act 2018 was enacted but is yet to commence because the written law required to enable the Accountability and Transparency Commission to operate.

Leung says access to information is a right which is protected under sections 25 and 150 of the Constitution and by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Fiji has ratified.

Given the weaknesses found in the Information Act 2018, the government says it is clear that a new law is required and this Bill addresses this need and repeals entirely the Information Act 2018 to propose a new access to information law.

The objectives of the Act include functional objectives such as recognising the right to access information held by public agencies and to ensure that Fijians are informed about the work of their public agencies.

The objectives also include wider benefits, such as to promote good governance and accountability, to reduce corruption, to foster participation, to support sustainable development and to create a level playing field for business.

The Bill allows the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, to screen additional bodies to be covered by the Act.

The Bill also sets out the right of a person to access public records held by public agencies.

It also provides for requests to go directly to the Access to Information Unit or the relevant public agency.

The Bill states that requests may be made in different ways, including electronically. Subsections (3) and (4) set out limited information that may be required or may be provided on a request, and subsection (5)clarifies that no other information, including the reasons for making a request, may be demanded. Subsection (6) provides for the Minister to prescribe a form for making requests.

The Bill also requires assistance to be provided to an applicant where a request does not comply with the rules in section 7 or where an applicant needs it because he or she is disabled or illiterate, and, in giving access, public agencies must ensure equality for persons with disabilities, as required by section 42 of the Constitution.

The Bill provides for a complete set of primary grounds for refusing access to information (exemptions), these include where disclosure would harm sovereignty or security, the administration of justice, relations with foreign governments, the exercise of fiduciary duties, internal government deliberations, the life or safety of any person, confidential sources of information, privacy, commercial operations, the ability of the Government to manage the economy or the environment, as well as information that is subject to legal professional privilege.

The Bill makes it mandatory for public agencies to disclose and then update regularly a long list of types of public interest information, which may be extended by the Accountability and Transparency Commission.

Information about projects being undertaken in a community is required to be posted in the affected community as well as online.

The Bill will also address the reuse of public records, authorising this and providing for the Minister to adopt reuse licences, which may be attached to public records when they are released.

The proposed Bill provides for protection against any administrative, civil or criminal law action, as well as any employment detriment for those acting reasonably and in good faith to implement the law.

It provides for sanctions for willful obstruction of access to information, including both disciplinary and criminal sanctions, the latter applying to more serious forms of obstruction, such as destroying records without authority and obstructing transparency on the part of public agencies.

Disciplinary offences are subject to appropriate employment-related sanctions, including wage deductions, while criminal offences are subject to unspecified fine.