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Last year, the Centre for Public Integrity, an independent research agency, reported that 24% of FOI requests were denied during Labor’s first term in office. In comparison, the proportion of applications refused ranged from 10% to 18% over the Coalition’s previous nine years in office.
Similarly, more than half of FOI applications were approved in full in 2021-22, but this figure fell to 25% in 2023-24.
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Dr. Catherine Williams, research director at the Centre for Public Integrity, said that Labor’s actions suggested a “deliberate effort to avoid scrutiny”, a “trend is dangerous for democracy”.
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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