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Cabinet information

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.

  • Michaela Whitbourn

Latest

Whistleblower David McBride arrives at court in November.

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.

  • David Crowe
Leo Hardiman has resigned as the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Commissioner.

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.

  • James Massola
The report found a “culture of secrecy” in politics and government.

‘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.

  • David Crowe
Power player: Lachlan Murdoch.

Murdoch’s new bookie shop off and racing

Lachlan Murdoch is racing ahead in the betting game

  • Kishor Napier-Raman and Noel Towell
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing battle in the Senate over his cuts to independents’ staffing.

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.

  • Dana Daniel
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Nick Xenophon in 2018.

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.

  • Angus Livingston
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

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.

  • Shane Wright, Jennifer Duke and Charlotte Grieve
Australian Information Commissioner Angelene Falk doesn’t believe national cabinet needs special exemptions from freedom of information laws.

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.

  • Katina Curtis
Illustration: Simon Letch

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.

  • David Crowe

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/rex-lyall-patrick-jbn