Home page
> Minister > Speech
‹ Previous page

The Hon Kevin Andrews MP

Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service

Disclosure blockage wrong says Minister

Friday 17^th June 2005

KA178/05

Media release

The Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, Kevin Andrews today expressed disappointment at the Senate’s decision to disallow regulations governing disclosure of information by public servants.

Mr Andrews said the disallowance means that a previous regulation is revived which dates back to colonial legislation in the 1860s. This imposes a blanket ban on disclosure of official information by public servants other than in the normal course of their duties or with the express authority of the head of their agency.

“There is now uncertainty for individual public servants and their agencies about what rules govern disclosure of information. The Government had drafted the disallowed regulation in part to address concerns about the validity of the earlier regulation raised by Justice Finn in Bennett v President, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ([2003] FCA 1433).

“Despite Opposition claims, the disallowed regulation was not an attempt to clamp down on public servants speaking out about issues or to take part in union activity, and did not prevent them disclosing information about malpractice or corrupt administration in the public service to the appropriate authorities.” Mr Andrews said.

“The regulation did not seek to regulate public comment by public servants. This is a matter that is managed in accordance with the APS Values and Code of Conduct. Under long-standing guidelines issued by the Australian Public Service Commission, APS employees as private citizens may generally make public comment in a private capacity so long as they make clear they are expressing their own views.

“ This is subject to some necessary provisos – for example, any comment about the policies and programmes of the employee’s agency must not compromise the ability of APS employees to fulfil their duties in an unbiased manner.” Mr Andrews said.

He said the Government will be considering what steps it might now take to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the ability of public servants, as citizens, to discuss important issues, and the need to ensure the confidentiality of government information where appropriate.

(For more details see the Australian Public Service Commission publication The APS Values and Code of Conduct in Practice, available at http://www.apsc.gov.au/values/conductguidelines.htm )

Media Inquiries: Russ Street 0417 044 712 russ.street@dewr.gov.au