Daily secrecy

Another day, another secrecy clause from this secretive government. This time its in the seemingly boring looking Financial Market Infrastructures Bill, which is about stock exchange and bank settlement regulation. It uses existing bodies subject to the OIA as regulators, and gives them powers to require information both from each other and from market participants. And it adds the now-standard secrecy clause forbidding disclosure of any information acquired in such a manner. As I noted last week, these clauses oust the jurisdiction of the OIA, and exist primarily because public sector agencies do not trust the Act or each other to protect information. Again, public sector dysfunction is being used to undermine the public's right to know, and we should not tolerate it.