Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Everyone must agree that the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003 is being rushed through. It is the revenge of Sir Humphrey to get the Bill spun through as quickly as possible and all the pain over with in one day by pulling all the teeth together. It reflects badly on the Government. Senator Hayes's proposal has much merit. While we all agree that certain amendments should be made to the legislation, we object to the replacement of open government with a Stalinist iron curtain around information on the workings of government.