Free and Frank: Making the New Zealand Official Information Act 1982 work better
A forthcoming Institute of Policy Studies publication by Nicola White
The New Zealand Official Information Act 1982 is frequently hailed as one of this country’s most significant constitutional reforms. It is praised as world-leading in its refusal to contemplate that any category of government information might be completely immune from the prospect of public disclosure.
But for those who work with the Act, either as seekers of information or as officials responding to requests, it is not an unqualified good – the working reality of the Act can be frustrating and time-consuming, just as often as it is enlightening.
This book follows a two-year research project into the day-to-day operation of the Act. It examines the history of the Act’s passage and subsequent development and reports the candid views of (anonymised) officials, politicians, academics, political advisers and ‘regular seekers’ of OfficialInformation.
The result is a ‘free and frank’ picture of the operation of administrative and political processes around Official Information. It carries a sobering message about how those process, if not well-managed, can erode trust in government across time.
But the picture is not all bleak. The book concludes with proposals for change designed to build on the very real strengths of the system, to help itcope with the challenges of modern politics and the information age.
Nicola White has had nearly 20 years of close involvement with the theory and practice of the Official Information Act as a public sector lawyer and policy adviser. This research was carried out whilst she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Victoria University’s School of Government (2004-6).
Institute of Policy Studies are currently taking pre-orders for this book which should be available on 16 November 2007.
Format – B5 Paperback, pp 318
ISBN – 1-877347-21-3
Price – $35.00 (including P&P within New Zealand)
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To have a copy of Free and Frank and an invoice sent to you please email, phone,
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Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
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Email ipos@vuw.ac.nz, tel +64 4 463 5307, fax +64 4 463 7413
——————————————————————————————————————————-
To have a copy of Free and Frank and an invoice sent to you please email, phone, fax or mail your order form to:
Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600, Wellington
Email ipos@vuw.ac.nz <mailto:ipos@vuw.ac.nz> , tel +64 4 463 5307, fax +64 4 463 7413
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