Freedom or access to information is a cornerstone of any democratic and responsible government. The logic behind allowing citizens to have access to information is to ensure transparency

accountability and upholding the principles of representative democracy. While the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) ("1982 Act")

and subsequent amendments made thereto

are a great leap forward to achieve these objectives

it is submitted that there is a lot of room for improvement. That is to say it can be considered as a means to an end but not an end in itself. These submissions

rather recommendations

are provided under the discussion of each Terms of Reference (TORs) provided by the Australian Senate with reference to the subject above.