What Price Freedom (of Information)?

I just wanted to bring your attention to the activities of my goodest of friends, and part-time armchair activist, Don over at Blather-Blog.

He is currently locking horns with the Attorney General's Office over some legal advice our Prime Autocrat Minister reportedly received concerning the legality of the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay.

At the beginning of July this year, he put in a freedom of information request for the documents. He says it much more pretty like:

I request the following documents:

Any and all legal advice provided to the Commonwealth Government regarding the legality (or otherwise) under international law of the military commissions established by the United States of America to try detainees held in Guantanamo, Cuba, or elsewhere.

I consider that any claim to legal professional privilege under Section 42 of the Act has been waived by the disclosure of the substance of the advice received, by the Prime Minister, who publicly stated on 30 June 2006: “Our advice had been, as had the American Government's advice . . . that it was lawful.”

The Commonwealth Government has knowingly and voluntarily disclosed the (alleged) substance of the documents, and therefore waived any legal professional privilege over those documents.

Of course, nothing is ever simple or cheap. At this point in time Don is paying the (not insubstantial) processing charges, after his submission for a waiver was bureaucratically denied.

He is going to go them hammer and tongs, even enlisting some of his friends who are still practising law to ensure they can't weasel their way out.

Have fun following the paper trail...




Tags: politics, Australia, legal