Freedom of Information

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Has the Deputy Premier received advice pertaining to freedom of information exemption clauses and, if so, has this informed any submission to the Ombudsman? With your leave, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: On 5 May 2023, the Ombudsman said, and I quote:

I will be curt and state that the Deputy Premier's submission does not adequately engage with the clauses relied upon, and I do not foresee the utility in discussing those deficiencies at length with reference to each individual case.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:30): I am not familiar with which FOI that letter is referring to, but I can say there was a reference in yesterday's letter to whether the correct reason for an exclusion had been applied, which is not to say that there wasn't an alternative exclusion that I expect will be considered to be applied instead.

Of course, these reviews are of a process that has occurred by the FOI officer who is not myself. It is very important that that first stage of FOI is not undertaken by the minister and that it doesn't have political fingerprints, and therefore those are the challenges which we've had and which we have now sought to resolve.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Mawson is on a final warning.