OCR Text |
Show January 5, 1979 Signpost Page 5 f STUDENT NT LING- I i! coumse NOT AIL &8LSG010C0IU6B IN x Australians also push for freedom of information CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA-The Watergate scandal has had an impact in Australia. For here, as in the United States, it has inspired the public to demand more information on the activities of the government. As- a result, efforts are currently underway to frame some kind of Freedom of Information Act similar to the law that exists in America. But judging from what has been happening so far, promoting such legislation will not be easy. Australians were astonished during Richard Nixon's final days by the details about the former President that were then surfacing in Washington. And subsequent executive and court orders to make U.S. government files available to journalists, scholars and others touched off similar attempts here to legislate for a more open administration. The Australian government sought to preempt the agitation by proposing its own bill. It was News Tips? Call: 626-6359 Winter warfare The first class for MS 292-MS 492 (Winter Warfare; a workshop for winter survival and cross country skiing) will be conducted at 10 a.m., on January 6 in Promontory Tower in classroom PT 021. This class will consist of an introduction to winter survival and an initial issue of equipment. Attendance is mandatory and will count toward the final grade. For more information regarding this class, contact Major Slater or Tom Kallam at 626-6518 during regular school business hours. mil 6SAZCH OP KK0WLEP&56, YOU KNOW. " so deficient, however, that political and press critics were correct in dubbing it "freedom from information" legislation. Since then, opponents of the original bill have been trying to strengthen it by making the executive and the civil service more responsive to the public, and they have had a certain amount of success. For instance, the proposal was initially scheduled to be debated only in the parliament. But, after bipartisan complaints, the government agreed to throw it open to public examination. This is being done by permitting a Senate committee to spend two months touring Australia's major cities and by holding hearings in which individual citizens and special interest groups will be encouraged to suggest amendments to the legislation. The main criticism of the bill as it now stands centers around its so-called exemptions clauses, which allow a government minister or senior bureaucrat to deny information on the grounds that disclosure is "contrary to the Published twice weekly by the Media Board of Weber Slate College during fall, winter and spring quarters. Entered as second class mail at the Ogden, Utah Post office. Mailing address: Weber Slate College, 3750 Harrison Blvd., Ogden, Utah 84408. The opinions expressed on the editorial page do not necessarily represent those of the student body, the administration, the W SC Media Board or that of the SIGINPOST. STAFF Editor-in-chief John H. Redding Managing Editor Photo Editor News Editor News Editor Sports Editor Copy Editor Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Secretary . . Delivery News tips call: Letter policy The Signpost accepts and encourages letters to the editors from its readers. All letters must be typewritten, signed, and must include the writer's name and social security number. Preference will be given to those letters typed and double-spaced on a 60 - space line. Address all letters to: "Letters to the Editor," Weber State College Signpost, located in the Union Building room 267. Typewriters are available for use in the Signpost office, east wing of the U.B. ! (300 word limit.) ARE YOU DISSATISIFIED WIT-H THE WAY THE SIGNPOST IS BEING MANAGED? public interest." It is this arbitrary alibi for official secrecy that has most aroused indignation here. , Everyone recognizes that that elusive concept, the "national interest," is at the heart of the discussion about freedom of information. And it is widely accepted that there are secrets that the government can reasonably claim to be kept confidential. But, as the Melbourne Age pointed out the other day, "The dispute is over where to draw the line - and whether the particular case being made for confidentiality is really an excuse to avoid official embarassment or to cover blunders." The exemptions from disclosure in the bill are sweeping, blanketing as they do the fields of security, defense and diplomacy. So, contend critics of the legislation, the government is actually striving to limit the information it will divulge when it ought to be taking openness as far as possible. Apart from keeping security and defense matters classified, Business Manager Richard Curtis John Eldard Suzette Ahrendt Eunice Schlenker Cindy Stoppelnioor , . Guy Yocom Amber Dalley Beverly Taggart Linda Ferguson Marty Patterson Gerald Medina 626-6359 Please tell us in a letter along icith some positive suggestions. DO YOU HAVE STORY IDEAS OR MATERIAL YOU'D LIKE TO SUBMIT? Please stop in and the , bill would also authorize government ministers and their top advisors to withhold information on the workings of the cabinet, legislature, courts, state administrations and civil service. Thus it would, in effect, codify secret practices that have long existed. Since one out of four Australians works for the government in a nation that is one of the most bureaucratic in the democratic world, there is not exactly a groundswell of opinion in favor of a more liberal information act. The "mandarins" of the civil service, many of them stronger than their political bosses, are especially hostile. In particular, they oppose an amendment to the legislation, known as the Archives Bill, which would make all official documents public after 15 years instead of after 30, which is the rule that now applies. The amendment would further make it incumbent on the government to prove that certain documents should not be released after the time limit. The press criticism of the PI Join Woldo at GET DOWN TO THE BEST MUSIC IN TOWN! This ad entitles you to: $1 off ADMISSION PRICE wS.B. Cord (WSC STUDENTS ONLY) Must be Thank You for making MISUI.l: TKI.Y NOONK CNDKR 17 ADMITTKDM ITHOLT I D. U.K. ASK - Ml Al.COIIOl.OK TOBACXV) mrwM liwn iiii in n-wiinin.iriHMr-iiiniiM mii n share them. IS THERE A SPECL4L AREA OF INTEREST THAT IS NOT BEING COVERED? Please come in and in form us. In order for the Signpost to function on your behalf, we depend on your concern and support. Our resources are limited, and our staff is small, therefore your input is greatly respected. present secrecy is ironic, since Australia's media proprietors have long subscribed to a Brithish-style "D-notice" system, under which editors voluntarily agreed to censor themselves on security topics. . Under this system, in which "D" stands for defense, newspapers have avoided stories on such subjects as the Australian in- telligence network and the whereabouts of Vladimir Petrov, and Soviet diplomatic defector living here. Oddly enough, the "D-notice" arrangement does not apply to books. Therefore, a recent volume on the Australian espionage structure was the first revelation for newspaper readers and television viewers here that their country has spies overseas. Harold Evans, the editor of the London Sunday Times, observed not long ago that Australia has a more restrictive information policy than Britain, and that Britain is more stringent than the United Staes. The British are currently considering reforms of their Official Secrets Act, BEHIND SEARS WED. - Adult Night (21 or over) 'Thurs. - 8:30-12:00 Fri. - 8:30-1:00 Sat. - 8:30-1:00 18 or over 1 11 V |