References & Citations

Chapter 13: New WA’s Freedom of Disclosure Framework

1.      Freedom of the Press Act (Sweden) <https://www.riksdagen.se/globalassets/05.-sa-fungerar-riksdagen/demokrati/the-freedom-of-the-press-act-2023-eng.pdf>

2.      Constitution of Finland (Finland) <https://www.finlex.fi/en/legislation/translations/1999/eng/731>

3.      Access to Public Administration Files Act 1987 (Denmark) <https://danishbusinessauthority.dk/sites/default/files/2023-10/The-danish-Access-Public-Administration-Files-Act-1987_U.pdf>

4.      Meijer, ‘Understanding the Complex Dynamics of Transparency’ (2013) Public Administration Review <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/puar.12032>

5.      Bajpai et al, Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Transparency: The Fight Against Corruption (World Bank, 2020) <https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/governance/publication/enhancing-government-effectiveness-and-transparency-the-fight-against-corruption>

6.      The Northern Voices, ‘Nordic Countries (and Estonia) Lead the World in Clean Governance (2025 Rankings)’ <https://www.thenorthernvoices.com/post/nordic-countries-and-estonia-lead-the-world-in-clean-governance-2025-rankings> Annotation: Describes how Nordic transparency traditions, including open public records, close avenues for corruption by making wrongdoing hard to hide.

7.      Policy Options, ‘Trust and transparency: is Sweden still a model?’ <https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/02/sweden-trust-transparency> Annotation: Links Nordic public transparency to reduced corruption perceptions, with officials accountable via open records.

FOI USA

8.      CREW (USA), ‘The FOIA is Broken, but is it Beyond Repair?’ <https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-foia-is-broken-but-is-it-beyond-repair/>

9.      U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy, ‘Summary of Fiscal 2024 Annual FOIA Reports’ <https://www.justice.gov/oip/media/1398111/dl?inline=> Annotation: Confirms a government-wide backlog of 267,056 requests at the end of FY 2024, with processing delays often extending into years due to increased demand.

10.   Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, ‘FOIA Requests, Denials, Backlogs, Delays, Costs Surge in FY 2024’ <https://brechner.org/2025/04/30/foia-requests-denials-surge-fy-2024/> Annotation: Notes a 33% increase in backlogs to 267,056, with average response times rising and some delays spanning years.

FOI UK

11.   Rob Evans, ‘UK Government “Waging Secret War Against Transparency”’ (2021) The Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/25/uk-government-waging-secret-war-against-transparency>

12.   David Pegg, ‘UK’s FOI Laws are Being Undermined, Warn Journalists’ (2022) The Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/07/uk-foi-transparency-laws-are-being-undermined-warn-journalists>

FOI Australia

13.   Australian Senate, The Operation of Commonwealth Freedom of Information (FOI) Laws (2023) <https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/CommonwealthFOI2023/Report>

14.   Rushton and Black, ‘Information is a National Resource: Crikey’s Submission to the FOI Senate Inquiry’ (2023) Crikey <https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/05/29/freedom-of-information-crikey-senate-inquiry-submission/>

15.   Anton Nilsson, ‘“Australia is an Outlier”: Sluggish FOI System Sets Secrecy as the Default’ (2023) Crikey <https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/05/29/redacted-series-freedom-of-information-australia-outlier/>

16.   Christopher Knaus, ‘Former Information Commissioner Claims in Senate Inquiry He Was “Manhandled” and “Gaslighted” by Leadership’ (2023) The Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/29/leo-hardiman-foi-freedom-of-information-backlog-senate-inquiry>

17.   The Australia Institute, The Price of Freedom (Report) <https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/the-price-of-freedom> Annotation: Reports that the FOI system cost $86 million in 2023–24, with only 21% of requests granted in full (down from 81% in 2006–07).

18.   IDM Magazine, ‘FOI System Costs Soar $A61 Million’ <https://idm.net.au/article/0015391-foi-system-costs-soar-a61-million> Annotation: Confirms annual costs around $86 million, with low grant rates contributing to inefficiencies.

FOI Canada

19.   The Globe and Mail, ‘Opposition MPs United in Call for Overhaul of Access to Information System’ (2023) <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-parliament-mps-access-to-information/>; ‘Canada’s Access-to-Information Law Has Entered a Painful Midlife Crisis’ (2023) <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canadas-access-to-information-law-has-entered-a-painful-midlife-crisis/>; ‘Federal Review of Access to Information Law “Doesn’t Have Credibility,” Expert Says’ (2025) <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-federal-review-access-to-information-law-lacks-credibility-expert-says/>

20.   Yves Faguy, ‘Canada’s Broken Access to Information System’ (2023) National Magazine <https://nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/rule-of-law/2023/access-to-information-delays-are-eroding-our-trust-in-democracy>

21.   Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, Access at Issue: The Unsustainable Status Quo <https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/resources/reports-publications/access-issue-unsustainable-status-quo> Annotation: Notes average response times of 90 days for key agencies like IRCC, exceeding the 30-day statutory limit, with backlogs contributing to a "broken" system.

FOI New Zealand

22.   Peter Boshier (Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand), ‘Outgoing Chief Ombudsman Releases “Reflections” Report on Official Information Act’ (2025) <https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/news/outgoing-chief-ombudsman-releases-reflections-report-official-information-act>

23.   Wikipedia, ‘Official Information Act 1982’ <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Information_Act_1982> Annotation: Notes constant friction between requesters and state agencies over time and cost, leading to reluctant disclosure and undermining the Act's ideals.

Blockchain & AI

24.   World Economic Forum, Exploring Blockchain Technology for Government Transparency: Blockchain-Based Public Procurement to Reduce Corruption (Insight Report, June 2020) <https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Blockchain_Government_Transparency_Report.pdf>

25.   OECD, Governing with Artificial Intelligence: The State of Play and Way Forward in Core Government Functions (September 2025) <https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2025/06/governing-with-artificial-intelligence_398fa287.html>

Thomas Jefferson

26.   Oxford Reference, ‘Thomas Jefferson 1743–1826 American Democratic Republican Statesman, 3rd President 1801–9’ <https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00005878>

FOI United Nations

27.   UN Office on Drugs and Crime, ‘Access to Information: A Condition for Citizen Participation’ <https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/anti-corruption/module-10/key-issues/access-to-information_-a-condition-for-citizen-participation.html> Annotation: UNODC's resources emphasise that public information and records are essential public assets for accountability, aligning with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which UNODC administers and promotes as treating information access as a tool for public ownership over governance.

28.   United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights art 19 <https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights> Annotation: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’

FOI OECD

29.   OECD, Institutions Guaranteeing Access to Information: OECD and MENA Region (2019) <https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2019/10/institutions-guaranteeing-access-to-information_b3c047a4/e6d58b52-en.pdf> Annotation: “The right to access information is an essential element of open government, and should be considered in the framework of ongoing public governance reforms and a transparent and participatory government.”

30.   OECD, Seizing the Productive Potential of Digital Change in Estonia <https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2020/12/seizing-the-productive-potential-of-digital-change-in-estonia_63752f80/999c7d5a-en.pdf> Annotation: Praises Estonia's e-government for enhancing security and trust, reducing risks through systems like X-Road.

Transparency International Rankings

31.   OECD, Recommendation on Open Government <https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/about/programmes/grc/grc-see/integrity/Policy-Briefing-Note-on-Open-Government.pdf>

32.   Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (2024) <https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024> Annotation: Top performers like Nordic countries attribute lower corruption perceptions to disclosure practices.

Further Reading

33.   Seth F Kreimer, ‘The Freedom of Information Act and the Ecology of Transparency’ (2008) Penn Journal of Constitutional Law <https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jcl/vol10/iss5/2/>

34.   Pozen et al, Troubling Transparency: The History and Future of Freedom of Information (Columbia University Press, 2018) <https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/8/>