Hipkins: OIA ‘needs teeth’ for digital era

State Services Minister Chris Hipkins says the the Official Information Act needs more teeth, and to be updated for the digital age.

Hipkins spoke to Stuff as part of Redacted, a series on the health of the four-decades-old legislation.

He said there is a ‘‘culture of game playing’’ within the public service, which he oversees.

Stuff’s reporting has revealed the OIA is sometimes abused, to the detriment of the public.

Interestingly, Justice Minister Andrew Little has said an overhaul of legislation ‘‘might not be needed’’ because his Government is much more open.

‘‘[But] the reality is I do think there does need to be something more in the act to give it a bit more teeth,’’ Hipkins said.

His comments come as consultation on how the OIA is working draws to a close today.

Ministers will then decide if a review is warranted. Hipkins believes it is.

‘‘We do need to think about the OIA in the context of a digital era and what that means for Government.

‘‘One of the things about social media, for example, is disaggregating official information from personal information is very, very difficult.

‘‘Sometimes, it is literally embedded in the same messages, and you might be exchanging messages with someone that are about personal matters that are also about work matters.

‘‘That is very, very challenging and so I think the OIA needs to create . . . a better framework for how we manage those things,’’ he said.

An MP for just over a decade, Hipkins strongly believes the OIA is essential to democracy.

‘‘Democracy ultimately relies on an informed citizenry ... if people are not informed about what government is doing on their behalf when they make decisions about how to exercise their democratic rights then the whole premise of democracy becomes very endangered.

‘‘This is important for the integrity of the entire democratic system.’’

‘‘Democracy ultimately relies on an informed citizenry . . .’’ State Services Minister Chris Hipkins

Since September 2018, ministers have proactively released Cabinet papers and their diaries. But Hipkins has taken that one step further, with a trial to release almost all advice from officials when he – or the Cabinet – has signed off and announced a decision.

He says that saves time. ‘‘That’s a very efficient way of doing it.

‘‘Otherwise, when an Official Information Act request comes in, you have to go back through everything again . . . If you made that [call] at the time, you made the decision while it is fresh in your mind, you never need to go back and revisit it.’’

Eventually, he’ll take the results of his informal trial to his ministerial colleagues and recommend they do the same.