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In Australia, as in most places, we do not have direct democracy, rather we have elected representatives within political parties doing the job of governing, supposedly, on our behalf. Freedom of Information (FOI) is an important conduit into that rarified air where the power is brokered. The Albanese government seeks to make that access harder and more expensive for us to really find out what is going on at the big table. Freedom of Information really matters. It behoves disbelief that the first thing this Labor federal government does, after achieving its largest majority in the parliament, is to reduce transparency on the pretext of lessening the workload for public servants.
Albanese Betraying Freedom Of Information Cause Downunder
How quickly do the ideals and friends in Opposition get shed when real power is achieved! The Albanese government disappoints those who are committed to free and transparent governance in Australia. The seduction of maintaining office and reducing political opposition should never subsume things like freedom of information. Lie down with dogs and get up with fleas. The daily contact with the elite who think that their shit doesn’t stink soon renders idealists self-serving power brokers, first and foremost. Once a government starts trying to make its job easier, it is time for them to go or for the personnel to change.
FOI In Australia Should Remain Open & Unfiltered
Yes, there is wastage in the FOI application process, but expediency is not the answer. I mean, 90% of all media reportage is frivolous crap but that small percentage of investigative journalism, like that into the Robodebt scandal perpetrated by the previous LNP Coalition government, is well worth the bother with the rest. We must wade through the crap, sometimes, if we are to find gold. Access to the truth should be made easier and cheaper for Australians about their governments, not harder.
“Details of the government’s actions and the advice of public servants could be more easily hidden under a new Albanese government proposal to weaken Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will introduce legislation on Wednesday that would make it harder for journalists and members of the public to gain access to documents related to government “deliberations”. It would also “clarify” the rules about to when documents could be deemed confidential because they related to cabinet processes, an avenue the Robodebt royal commission found was routinely abused by public servants as an excuse to refuse FOI requests.”
- (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-02/labor-plans-to-weaken-foi-laws/105723992)
Direct Democracy Vs Elected Rep Democracy
“Direct democracy is often referred to as true democracy as it offers every person an opportunity to have a say. However, representative democracy is often the model used in parliaments that are based on a democratic system.”
A Labor Government Disappointing Its Constituents
There are parallels here with the crony capitalism world we live in today. You would think that bigger corporations would make things cheaper via economic efficiencies. That all these takeovers and mergers would result in better deals for consumers and workers? Well, we know that you would be wrong on this score. It all feeds into greater profits and returns for shareholders and obscene pay packets for CEOs and executives. Everything is more expensive for consumers and workers get screwed as well. The parallel is that the Albanese government has the largest parliamentary majority in history for Labor and you would think that would mean they would get the hard stuff done for their longtime constituents. However, we do not see any evidence of this being the case, quite the reverse, actually. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Freedom Of Information Matters
The other mob are far worse, of course, and hardly relevant in their circumstances. It is not time to play politics, Anthony Albanese, it is time to govern and do the important stuff to level the economic opportunity playing field.
Economics The Selfish Pseudo Science
“Have you noticed that we have all become economists over the last 30 odd years? That economic-speak has become the lingua-franca of our modern world? We talk about the supply and demand of things, the dollar value of everything, and make all our decisions based upon economic principles to a large degree. This has not always been so. Prior to the American conversion to all things economic, which began with the Rand Corporation in the 1960s, governments and ordinary people did not bang on about economics. Economics is founded upon certain assumptions about individual behaviours driven by self-interest. Indeed, economics is anti-community.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; Money Matters and America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
©MidasWord
