Journalists in Vanuatu are already preparing to make Freedom of Information requests to test the government’s new laws.
David Robie is a professor of journalism at Auckland University of Technology and the director of the Pacific Media Centre.
He says the new laws are a step in the right direction, but it will also take a change in mindset from the government to make sure Freedom of Information requests are taken seriously.
“This is a tremendous encouragement for the media in Vanuatu, also for NGOs and other people seeking information and it’s a tremendous boost for the whole of the Pacific because Vanuatu is now the second country to follow on from Cook Islands,” Robie said.
However, he told Pacific Beat not to expect immediate change.
“I think fundamentally the government is committed to a much more open access to information and that was certainly reflected in the vote among MPs for bringing this Act before parliament and voting last year. Now that it’s actually in force. But we have got to actually allow for change in mind set because basically officials have gotten along quite happily for many years of just withholding information and being terribly helpful to the media,” Robie said.
Photo file: Vanuatu journalists at a press conference