Who Needs FOI When Market Mechanisms Will Deliver Accountability on Demand? A Critical Evaluation of the Relationship between Freedom of Information and Government Business Enterprises
Flinders Journal of Law Reform 1999 Vol 3 Issue 2. 215-246
33 Pages Posted: 18 Dec 2014
Date Written: march 17, 1999
Abstract
The relationship between administrative law and public administration has been changing in recent years. The late 1990s has seen a redefinition of the meaning of public power. This shift can be examined and understood through the relationship between government business enterprises (GBEs) and Freedom of Information (FOI). Some argue that devices such as FOI are unnecessary in the private sector, and that instead market mechanisms will suffice. This paper illustrates that the arguments that support this position are too simplistic and any analysis must take account more factors, such as of the liberal democratic evolution and the breakdown of the dichotomy of public and private law. The result of this debate will determine what place the values of rationality, openness and participation will play in the future exercise of public power in Australia. Administrative law needs to adapt its approach and structure to the new environment to ensure its existence in the privatised sphere.
Keywords: GBE, FOI, Freedom of Information, Public Private, market mechanisms, administrative law, public power
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