Wilkie wants discussion on FOI changes, willing to meet government ‘halfway’
Clark MP Andrew Wilkie. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)
Staying with FOI for a moment, independent Andrew Wilkie says he’s willing to meet the government “halfway” on the changes, but he’s not comfortable with adding a fee for applications.
“I agree our FOI framework does need to be modernised. It was, after all, designed, I think back in the 1980s, even before email and certainly before artificial intelligence,” he told ABC Radio National Breakfast.
“I am persuaded that at the moment the bureaucracy is just getting clogged up with FOI requests, I assume some AI-generated.
“So I think this isn’t the time for partisan response or Left-Right or right-wrong response. It’s the time to have an intelligent discussion of this issue and work out how we modernise.”
But he doesn’t think that means the government should charge for FOIs.
“I, as a matter of principle, am not comfortable at all with the fact that a charge would be applied. I mean, I don’t know what the point of the charge is. Is it to help recoup the cost of satisfying the FOI, or is it to set up a barrier almost that it might stop just vexatious or silly FOI requests?” he says.
“But at the end of the day, everyone, no matter what their means are, has a fundamental right to access certain amounts or certain parts of government information.”
25m agoTue 2 Sep 2025 at 9:56pm
Rowland defends record, asks crossbench and Coalition to ‘keep open mind’ on FOI reform
Michelle Rowland has defended the government’s record on transparency while responding to criticism of planned changes to Freedom of Information.
The attorney-general argued it costed $86m for departments to deal with FOI requests in 2023-24.
“We’ve had cases where FOI requests have been generated, sometimes around 600 of them in one instance, going to a small agency, which tied up the services of that agency for over two months,” she told ABC AM.
“Now, you might think that’s not important, but let me tell you what that agency was. That was eSafety.
“That is an organisation responsible for ensuring the safety, particularly of young people, online getting tied up, doing 600 frivolous FOI requests that they are required by law to deal with. This kind of mismanagement, this kind of exploitation of these systems needs to be reined in.”
Rowland asked crossbenchers and “everyone I’ve briefed on this” to “keep an open mind” when the legislation was referred to the Senate for an inquiry.
The opposition and the Greens have criticised the proposal.
A-G defends plan to charge for FOI applications
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has been sent out this morning to defend the government’s planned shake-up of the Freedom of Information system.
Under the plan, which is due to be introduced today, the government will charge about $30 to $50 per FOI request. That charge won’t apply to members of the public seeking to access information about themselves.
It would also “clarify” the rules about when documents could be deemed confidential because they related to cabinet processes.
Rowland says the move is necessary to stop the deluge of “vexatious or otherwise frivolous” FOI requests slowing down government agencies.
“I would point out that there is currently a charging regime in the Freedom of Information Act, and every state and territory bar the ACT actually imposes a modest application fee of somewhere between $30 and the mid-50s for people seeking to make FOI applications,” she told ABC’s AM.
Sussan Ley joins us to answer your questions
45m agoTue 2 Sep 2025 at 9:36pm
Coalition questions on migration not adding fuel to fire: Ley
Sussan Ley was also asked if the opposition was adding fuel to the fire by attacking the government’s migration policy.
She doesn’t think so.
“We’re pointing out that we need a sensible, balanced approach to migration,” she said.
“We also know that by bringing in a million migrants over the first two years of this government, with no plan to house them, or to put the infrastructure in place to support them, that is a rush decision that requires interrogation explanation. And, yes, we have pushed back because that number is high.”
So where should the migration figure sit? Ley wouldn’t put a figure on that.
Yesterday the government confirmed its permanent migration intake would remain at 185,000 for 2025-26.
It followed nationwide anti-immigration protests attended by Neo-Nazis on the weekend as criticism of the government’s migration setting continued.
Ley ‘felt sick’ watching neo-Nazi confront Victorian premier
Sussan Ley says she “felt sick” watching the footage of a Neo-Nazi confronting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen at a press conference yesterday.
The opposition leader told Nine she was worried by the increase in hatred and intimidation, and called on the government to do more to “de-radicalise” and “de-escalate”.
“I disagree with Jacinta Allan on a whole range of policy matters but I really felt sick watching how she was shouted at by this Nazi individual and had to leave in such manner. This is not who we are as Australians. This is not the country that I migrated to as a teenager for a better chance at a life that has delivered so much,” she said.
“What worries me is this escalation and this hatred and this intimidation, and we can’t have it.
“This this sickness has to be
it has to be removed. We need to de-radicalise, de-escalate, work together as a society to tackle something that I’m seeing as a troubling trend, an escalation in political violence.”
1h agoTue 2 Sep 2025 at 9:14pm
Wong to meet widow of Russian opposition leader Navalny, fresh sanctions applied
Foreign Minister Penny Wong will today meet with Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Navalny died in February 2024 in an Artic Circle prison, aged 47. World leaders condemned his death and placed responsbility for it on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalnaya is also the chair of the International Anti-Corruption Foundation Advisory Board.
“Ms Navalnaya is a fearless voice for democracy in Russia, continuing her fight at immense personal cost,” Wong said.
“Russia failed to undertake an independent and transparent investigation into Mr Navalny’s death, and Australia holds President Putin and the Russian government responsible.”
Meanwhile, the government announced on Wednesday it would impose sanctions and travel bans on 14 individuals responsible for silencing political expression in Russia.
“The human rights situation in Russia continues to deteriorate with violent crackdowns aimed at suppressing human rights and anti-war advocacy,” Wong said in a statement.
“We condemn Russia’s intimidation and reprisals against civil society and human rights defenders, and reiterate our call for Russia to comply with its international human rights obligations.”
1h agoTue 2 Sep 2025 at 8:59pm
👋 Good morning
Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! I’m Courtney Gould and I’ll be guiding you through the day.
I know I’ve been talking about it for a couple of days now but we’re expecting a vote to finally happen today on a push from an unlikely alliance of the Coalition, Greens and independent David Pocock on delays to come care packages.
And later today, we’ll be joined live on the blog by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for a Q&A. So get your questions in early!
So grab a coffee (or five) and settle in.
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