As South Pacific countries (Tonga, Tuvalu and Fiji) move towards democracy, enunciating the ‘Right to Public Information Act’ would be a step in the right direction.
It would also be useful for Samoa, which recently held a general election.
The Act has been under discussion in the South Pacific for some time.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CWHRI), said in its 2009 Report that the Pacific Island countries had not implemented the Act because of the prevalence of the Colonial mindset of concealing information from the public.
The South Pacific comprises, among others, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Torres Strait Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis & Futuna.
These countries have been either British or French Colonies or have been a condominium. One of the problems facing them in their move towards democracy is that State is not under scrutiny by citizens on day-to-day basis.
The Indian Context
The situation is akin to that of India, which is still struggling to have effective governance with the active participation of its people.
Australia and New Zealand have laws, from which the neighbouring South Pacific countries take lessons. But their circumstances are different.
Although similarities between vast and hugely populated India and the tiny Pacific Island may not be apparent, there are familiar deficits in governance, sometimes conflict, poverty, corruption and underdevelopment.
The Indian Parliament, to provide a practical regime of right to information for citizens, enforced the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005. The Act, covered under a State-level law empowers citizens to seek information from a public authority, which must comply within 30 days.
The RTI acts as a check against the colonial Official Secrets Act 1923, a legacy of British Rule in India It contains provisions that prohibit the flow of information from the Government to the people. It was enacted to protect against spying, but its provisions are far-reaching. They serve not only to restrict access to information, but also to punish the disclosure of certain kinds of information, by any person.
The RTI Act specifies that citizens have a right to request any information (as defined) obtain copies of documents, inspect documents, works and records and obtain information in form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes ‘or in any other electronic mode’ or through printouts.
Participatory Democracy
In many ways, the RTI is a step towards Participatory Democracy. Since it came into force, a number of other statutes have followed. The proposed ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’ will create ‘Jan Lokpal,’ an independent body similar to the Election Commission with powers to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without prior government permission.
Indians are now debating how to link the RTI with the Jan Lokpal Bill.
RTI has given further teeth to the media. Though corruption has not decreased since the Act came into force, it has made the Government accountable to citizens.
It is understandable that Right to Information is an important step towards becoming a democratic state. The United Nations recognised in 1946 that “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.”
The Pacific Scene
The importance of RTI gained importance in the Pacific Island countries only recently. Australia and New Zealand enacted freedom of information laws during the 1980s, aimed at guaranteeing their people access to information.
However, it took another 25 years for Cook Islands, an overseas self-governing State in free association with New Zealand, to adopt the Official Information Act (2008) in stages.
Tonga adopted public consultative processes while drawing up its Strategic Development Plan. Tuvalu has included the goal of ‘improving transparency and accountability’ in its National Sustainable Development Strategy as a key policy objective. Vanuatu’s Strategic Plan recognises the importance of the free flow of information regarding government and its operations in order to increase the accountability of leaders and government institutions.
Prior to the 2006 Military coup Fiji had, in its Strategic Development Plan, promised to “provide an institutional, operational and legislative framework for more accountability and transparency in policy making and management of public resources at all levels of Government.”
Other countries in the South Pacific have not made any initiatory steps towards the Right to Public Information
Right to Public Information will be a welcome step if South Pacific countries are keen to strengthen their democratic system.
The New Zealand based ‘Pacific Media Centre’ has advocated the Right to Public Information as the means to strengthen the Fourth Estate in the region.
Balaji Chandramohan is our Delhi based Correspondent. He is currently working as a volunteer at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
Photo Caption: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, his former Australian counterpart (now Foreign Minister) Kevin Rudd and other leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum Meeting held in Cairns in 2009.
