The title of this seminar reminds us of the extraordinary increase in access to information of all kinds which has overtaken us. This enhanced access to information is the chief gift bestowed on us by the information revolution of the past 15 or 20 years. And its gift has been an abundant one; some might describe it as over abundant, fearing lest the relevant be submerged in a great tidal wave of unco-ordinated information. This fear echoes the thought which lies behind TS Eliot’s lines when he wrote, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”.

Clearly enough, mere information, now proffered to us in such profusion is only the raw material of knowledge. But so long as we recognise that information is only the raw material from which knowledge derives, not confusing information with knowledge, and so long as we are skilful in our use of the electronic tools which the information revolution has given us, narrowly focussing our retrieval processes, the raw material which information consists of can be precious stuff indeed.

I begin this paper with a disclaimer: it does not pretend to be a definitive study of freedom of information in Australia. Rather, it presents the experience of an official who has been concerned with the development of the Commonwealth freedom of information legislation from the time it first appeared on the political agenda in Australia; who has taken part in hundreds of hours of discussion and debate on the topic by officials; who has shared in much of the academic consideration of the subject; who has drafted a score of Cabinet submissions on the subject for consideration by Ministers; who has worked closely with three Attorneys-General on the matter; who has both formally and informally canvassed a wide range of issues with members of a Senate Committee, and who has spent long hours with one of our best parliamentary counsel in the business of translating concepts into legislation which, it is hoped, is reasonably workable.

Let me start on a note of consensus, if not reconciliation. I am certain that we all agree that there would be no one else as well equipped to give the opening paper for this seminar as is Lindsay Curtis. He is well equipped by direct experience, by close knowledge, by personal commitment, and at the same time not least by an ability to stand back from the unfolding of a complicated bit of business and assess what has been going on. His paper is the ideal source of ideas, but in speaking to it I will be able to pursue only one or two.

As this is a seminar arranged by the Law School, it would only be appropriate to start with a text from WS Gilbert. In Act One of that understandably neglected work, “Utopia Limited”, there enters a character named Tarara who explains his constitutional function thus:

My first and quite unnecessary comment is that if anyone can speak with authority about Freedom of Information (“FOI”) in Australia and about the origins of the Commonwealth’s Freedom of Information Act in particular it surely is Mr Lindsay Curtis. I recall many of the events of 1973 onwards into 1979 when I retired from the Public Service. Especially I recall the long haul that was commenced in 1973 with the assistance of Mr Tony Mondello, the legal adviser to the United States Civil Service Commission, and that eventually reached fruition in 1982 with the passage of the FOI Act. All through that period Lindsay Curtis was more closely associated than any other public servant with the project. He has given us the benefit of that experience in an interesting, able and fluent paper.

My second and equally obvious comment is that the FOI Act is here to stay. Lindsay Curtis has said we are undergoing a revolution. I believe the revolution has already taken place. Some of us may find it rather difficult to live with the consequences.

Enactment of the United States Freedom of Information Act (“FOI Act”) in 1966 was a landmark event in the history of American administrative law. Among the most important of American administrative law reforms, the FOI Act has engendered a veritable cottage industry devoted to securing access to government-held information. In the sixteen-plus years since the Act went into effect Congress has twice amended the Act and is currently considering yet another round of amendments. Each occasion has engendered a new round of studies and commentaries on the Act, its purposes and effects.

The attention given to the subject by Congress pales in comparison to the attention given it by the courts. A September 1981 list shows more than 1300 decisions construing the FOI Act, and companion laws: the Privacy Act, Sunshine Act and Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Back in 1972-1973 when the idea of freedom of information legislation was first floated in Australia, a decision was made — and never seriously challenged — that our legislation should be modelled on the United States Freedom of Information Act. The result, as Professor Robinson points out, is that a remarkable parallel exists between the Australian and United States legislation.

In another respect too United States experience became relevant to Australia at an early date. Proponents of FOI in Australia learned from a close study of United States experience that legislation might not be received enthusiastically nor readily by some key Ministers and public servants. Legislation, particularly strong and workable legislation, would be enacted only if a vigorous and unyielding public campaign was undertaken. Indeed, the fact that an Act exists in Australia owes much to the campaign waged or supported by groups like the Freedom of Information Legislation Campaign Committee, Rupert Public Interest Movement. the Australian Council of Social Services, the Library Association of Australia, the Administrative and Clerical Officers’ Association, the Australian Consumers’ Association, and by a small number of parliamentarians and sympathetic senior public servants.

The opening words of s 3(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (“FOI Act”) state that the object of the Act is “to extend as far as possible the right of the Australian community to access to information in the possession of the Government of the Commonwealth”. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of s 3(1) indicate that this object is to be achieved in two main ways, that stated in s 3(1)(b) being:

[B]y creating a general right of access to information in documentary form in the possession of Ministers, departments and public authorities, limited only by exceptions and exemptions necessary for the protection of essential public interests and the private and business affairs of persons in respect of whom information is collected and held by departments and public authorities.