Ombudsman says Govt media teams ignoring the law

The Chief Ombudsman has found:

Mr Boshier says most agencies have set up media teams to respond to queries from journalists but these teams do not seem to apply the law.

“There appears to be a widespread misapprehension that many media information requests don’t fall under the OIA, and that applying the law is difficult and complicated. These perceptions are false.”

Mr Boshier discovered multiple examples of media teams within agencies breaching section 19 of the OIA.

This is a damning finding. If anyone should be experts in the OIA it should be the media teams. But instead the Chief Ombudsman has found they are the worst offenders.

“In fact, the processes adopted by the agencies have little or nothing to do with the law itself and I intend to consider this matter further.”

Good.

Mr Boshier says he found gaps in all 12 agencies in terms of their record keeping and Information Management systems, with several agencies breaching the Public Records Act.

Most open and transparent Government ever!