A Little Ray of Sunshine

Rick Snell, the editor of the Freedom of Information Review and lecturer in law at the University of Tasmania, has welcomed reforms proposed by the Victorian government for its freedom of information (FOI) laws. The new Victorian Premier, John Brumby, has promised to introduce legislation "to ensure that, except in national security cases, only real Cabinet documents will be exempt from FoI." Snell believes the changes should be adopted elsewhere in Australia. "I have just returned from Cambodia, where they are considering introducing an FOI regime that is more liberal than all Australian FOI laws," he said.