Submission from Mr William J S Zuill,
Editor, The Royal Gazette, Bermuda
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REVIEW OF BRITISH
OVERSEAS TERRITORIES
I write concerning the above captioned review.
I understand that the deadline for submissions to the committee
conducting the review is today.
I would like to bring to the committee's attention
a campaign that The Royal Gazette, Bermuda's only daily newspaper,
has been conducting entitled "A Right to Know: Giving People
Power" which is calling for the introduction of freedom of
information legislation in Bermuda.
I should emphasise that this is not a formal
submission to the committee calling for the committee to either
enact legislation or to call on the UK Government to take up this
question as a matter of policy, since such legislation clearly
falls within the ambit of the Parliament of Bermuda.
Nonetheless, it is our feeling that because
one of the terms of reference of the committee is Transparency
and Accountability in the Overseas Territories, the committee
may wish to examine the extent to which access to information
is enshrined in legislation in Bermuda and in other OTs and how
the United Kingdom Parliament might be able to assist and advise
on bringing such legislation to the fore. I would particularly
remind the Committee that freedom of information legislation has
now been enacted in more than 70 countries and associations of
states, including the United Kingdom and the European Union. It
should be clear that such legislation is crucial to openness and
transparency in Western democracies, and it makes sense for such
rights to be available to the citizens of British Overseas Territories.
While it may be logical to assume that access
to information in small jurisdictions like Bermuda would be easier
than it is in larger countries, the opposite is often true as
those in positions of power will often guard information quite
jealously. There are times when there are privacy issues at stake,
but often in a small community this is used as a reason for not
making information public, when in fact no harm would be done,
or when the public interest outweighs rights to privacy.
I also acknowledge that a Green Paper on Public
Access to Information (PATI) was published in Bermuda in 2005
and that the present Government has stated that it is continuing
to work on a Public Access to Information Act, but it may be that
the committee would recommend that the governments of Bermuda
and other Overseas Territories give this kind of legislation a
higher priority.
I am taking the liberty of referring you to
The Royal Gazette's website where the campaign is located: http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/section.jsp?sectionId=142
Should the committee wish to see the stories
in another format, we would be happy to furnish them.
I am grateful to the committee for its patience
in considering this submission and am available should the committee
require any further assistance.
31 January 2008
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