Proactive release of Tasmanian cabinet documents after 20 years one of the government's measures to improve transparency

Tasmanian cabinet documents will be released after 20 years, under reforms proposed by Premier Jeremy Rockliff in response to a scathing review of the state's Right to Information (RTI) laws.

A review of the state's RTI system — Tasmania's equivalent to Freedom of Information (FOI) — by Rick Snell and Tim McCormack, completed in September last year, found it was suffering from a culture of "non-disclosure and obfuscation". 

They made 43 recommendations.

Among them were recommendations to make cabinet information available after 10 years; to provide further explanation as to why information has been redacted; and to make improvements to the routine disclosure logs of departments.

Mr Rockliff has now tabled the government's response in state parliament, including the commitment to proactively release cabinet documents after 20 years.

"The government supports 32 of the review's recommendations in full or in principle, prioritising operational improvements and cultural change, including strengthening capability and training for RTI officers and improving consistency and responsiveness across agencies," he said.

Documents having been tabled in cabinet meetings is regularly cited as a reason for not being released in RTI requests.

Currently, Tasmanian cabinet documents from the past 25 years can only be accessed with the approval of the person who was premier at the time the document was created.

Federal cabinet documents are released after 20 years.

Mr Rockliff said a cross-agency governance framework would be developed, and that a new steering committee would oversee implementation of the changes.

Other supported recommendations include expanding the types of information routinely disclosed and requiring searches for information to be disclosed to applicants.

Reviewer pleased 'at least some recommendations' agreed to

Along with recommending that cabinet information be released after 10 years, the Snell and McCormack review also recommended that cabinet submissions, agendas and decision papers be proactively released 30 days after cabinet takes a final decision on an issue.

The government has not accepted this recommendation.

Adjunct Associate Professor Snell told ABC Radio Mornings the proposals were about inserting "a culture of openness in the whole heart of government".

"What we pointed out in the paper was effectively that those discussions and conflicts will remain confidential … it's the intelligence that leads into that discussion that will be released."

He said he was "very pleased" after a first glance at the government's response.

"I'd be careful about the ones that are being committed to in full … and the ones in principle subject to lots of qualifications, which is about half," Adjunct Associate Professor Snell said.

The Snell and McCormack report was one of three reports commissioned as part of the supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and the Jacqui Lambie Network following the 2024 state election.

"Given the fate of the Saul Eslake report and the Gruen report on the stadium, at least some of these recommendations have been taken on," Adjunct Professor Snell said.

Government 'dragged kicking and screaming' to reforms

Independent MLC Meg Webb said just 40 per cent of the review's 43 recommendations had been clearly accepted.

"The government's response to the RTI report is three months overdue, yet without explanation or apology for its lateness, it finally appears, and sadly, it is disappointing," Ms Webb said.

She noted the government's response was released before she moved a debate on it in the Legislative Council, while lower house independent Kristie Johnston has also foreshadowed a debate on releasing cabinet documents.

"This is another example of the Rockliff government being dragged kicking and screaming towards implementing necessary transparency and integrity reforms due to ongoing pressure from independent MPs and the crossbench," Ms Webb said.

In response, Tasmanian Treasurer Eric Abetz said "there had to be a balance", and that "even if we delivered everything for Meg Webb, there'd be something to complain about".

Mr Abetz said the 20-year time frame for releasing cabinet documents was in-line with the federal government's cabinet document release time frame.

"Those issues, as you try to develop them, will take longer than 30 days or 60 days — it's quite a lengthy gestation."

Ombudsman says backlog a long-standing issue 

The Tasmanian Ombudsman, Dr Grant Davies, said many of the report's findings and recommendations align with work already underway in his office. 

"While I do not support all of the observations and recommendations in the Independent Review, the majority are well reasoned and will lead to genuine improvement of the RTI scheme," Dr Davies said.

Of the 19 recommendations that related to the Office of the Ombudsman, Dr Davies said he supported 10, partially supported 5 and did not support four. 

He also called for additional funding for his office. 

He said clearing a backlog of RTI external review applications was a focus of his office's limited resources and "had been an issue for sometime".

“As this office has expressed repeatedly over the years, the negative impact of the backlog and reduced guidance for delegates is significant and I sincerely apologise to those impacted,” Dr Davies said.