Commission's comments on FOI Bill already addressed

Justice Minister David Smith said today that the Royal Commission's comments on the Freedom of Information Bill before Parliament had already been addressed.

He said it seemed that the Royal Commission had made the comments on the basis of an earlier draft of the Bill.

"Clearly, the comments relate to the Bill introduced in November 1991 which was withdrawn and reintroduced last September, about six weeks before the Commission report was produced," Mr Smith said.

"The second reading speech for the first Bill stated that it was originally intended that personal information, and the ability to correct, was to be included in separate privacy legislation.

"The Bill, as reintroduced in September, covers personal information and the other matters recommended by the Commission.

"We may have to change one or two 'mays' to 'shalls', but the legislation, as reintroduced before the Commission reported, covers all of the report's concerns.

"The only exception is one clause where the Commission seems to have misinterpreted the intent and effect of the clause.  This relates to the definition of a document of an agency.

"The Commission's concern that a request for access might be refused where an agency only has a copy of a document is unwarranted as the definition of document of an agency in the Bill includes any copy documents."