Freedom Of Information
FOI
The communication structure in a country should be one which allows for a national and international balance that is beneficial to it and to its people. This could be considered as a balanced flow of information into, out of, and across the country. The press, and for the matter, the public, has a constitutional right to demand the examination of public records as part of freedom of information (Paterson, 2005). It is a public right where the parties concerned are the citizens and they can ask for information as long as it is of public interest. This is the freedom of information. It simply means the access by individuals as a presumptive right to information held by public authorities (Black’s Law Dictionary, 1990).
The object of the Freedom of Information Act is to extend as far as possible the right of access of the Australian community to information in the possession of the government. There are two ways by which this is done. First is to require the annual publication of certain information by each government department or agency and the second is by the creation of an enforceable right of access to specific information held by government departments or agencies (Wallace & Pagone, 1990).
This right, however, does not mean that everyday citizens can just go to public offices and demand right away what they want to know. As is in many other countries, the right to information is subject to such limitations as may be provided by law (Martin, 2008). This means that while access to public records may not be prohibited, it certainly may be regulated by the government depending on the degree of public interest involved. This regulation may be in the form of a law or sometimes by order of the courts. Usually tests are applied such as the public interest test. It can therefore be said that while freedom of information exists as a right, it may be curtailed depending on how confidential the information sought is and how it could affect the security of the
The communication structure in a country should be one which allows for a national and international balance that is beneficial to it and to its people. This could be considered as a balanced flow of information into, out of, and across the country. The press, and for the matter, the public, has a constitutional right to demand the examination of public records as part of freedom of information (Paterson, 2005). It is a public right where the parties concerned are the citizens and they can ask for information as long as it is of public interest. This is the freedom of information. It simply means the access by individuals as a presumptive right to information held by public authorities (Black’s Law Dictionary, 1990).
The object of the Freedom of Information Act is to extend as far as possible the right of access of the Australian community to information in the possession of the government. There are two ways by which this is done. First is to require the annual publication of certain information by each government department or agency and the second is by the creation of an enforceable right of access to specific information held by government departments or agencies (Wallace & Pagone, 1990).
This right, however, does not mean that everyday citizens can just go to public offices and demand right away what they want to know. As is in many other countries, the right to information is subject to such limitations as may be provided by law (Martin, 2008). This means that while access to public records may not be prohibited, it certainly may be regulated by the government depending on the degree of public interest involved. This regulation may be in the form of a law or sometimes by order of the courts. Usually tests are applied such as the public interest test. It can therefore be said that while freedom of information exists as a right, it may be curtailed depending on how confidential the information sought is and how it could affect the security of the