Rex Patrick
Exclusive
State Parliament
The documents the NSW government doesn’t want you to see
It has been likened to a scene from the classic TV comedy-drama The Hollowmen, where documents are wheeled through cabinet to keep them secret.
- by Michaela Whitbourn
Latest
Exclusive
McBride trial
Whistleblower told to expect jail term for leaking of alleged war crime documents
Former military lawyer David McBride’s legal team hoped he would avoid jail because he exposed problems in the national interest. Now they are thinking the worst.
- by David Crowe
FOI Commissioner quits after less than a year in the job
Less than a year after he became the first FOI Commissioner in seven years, Leo Hardiman has quit, saying he can’t make the changes needed to fix the system.
- by James Massola
Exclusive
Privacy
‘Transparency has been killed by obstruction’ as officials flout FOI rules
A “culture of secrecy” is seeing more freedom of information requests being denied and delayed, a report has found, with impacts on government accountability.
- by David Crowe
Murdoch’s new bookie shop off and racing
Lachlan Murdoch is racing ahead in the betting game
- by Kishor Napier-Raman and Noel Towell
Independents consider disrupting Senate after PM cuts staff allocation
The government could face an embarrassing loss of control of the Senate next month over cuts to independents’ staff allocations.
- by Dana Daniel
Updated
Australia votes
Back with the X: Nick Xenophon running for Senate again
Former South Australian senator Nick Xenophon is running for the Senate again, more than four years after he left federal politics.
- by Angus Livingston
Frydenberg’s proxy adviser laws shot down in the Senate
Regulations that shielded directors and executives from investor scrutiny have survived just three days before being tossed aside by the Senate, with opponents claiming they were only put in place to protect the government’s largest political donors.
- by Shane Wright, Jennifer Duke and Charlotte Grieve
Information commissioner wasn’t consulted on national cabinet FOI exemptions
The Australian Information Commissioner says if Parliament passes national cabinet protections it must ensure information is still released about its decisions.
- by Katina Curtis
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
JobKeeper’s multibillion-dollar black hole escapes critical sunlight
If not for a Pauline Hanson sidestep, the Parliament would have forced the government to reveal details of businesses that received billions in JobKeeper support that they didn’t need. But the attempt to impose transparency isn’t over yet.
- by David Crowe
National cabinet thrown open to scrutiny in ruling it is not a cabinet
Senator Rex Patrick has succeeded in his appeal for documents from national cabinet to be made available under FOI.
- by David Crowe
Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/topic/rex-lyall-patrick-jbn