National Archives of Australia
Senator the Hon John Faulkner
Senator the Hon John Faulkner
Senator the Hon John Faulkner was chosen by the Parliament of New South Wales in 1989 to represent that State in the Senate. He was the Parliamentary Representative on the National Archives Advisory Council from 1996 to 2008 and was reappointed in September 2010. Senator Faulkner has held various ministerial appointments including Veterans' Affairs; Defence Science and Personnel; Environment, Sport and Territories; and Defence. He was Special Minister of State and Cabinet Secretary from December 2007 to June 2009 when his portfolio responsibilities included the National Archives.
I am delighted to be back as a member of the Advisory Council at this interesting time following the passage in May 2010 of the Government's Freedom of Information (FOI) reform legislation – the Information Commissioner Bill and the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Bill. These bills constitute the biggest overhaul of the FOI Act since its inception and are directed to providing a stronger foundation for openness and transparency in government. One of the changes is reducing the closed access period under the Archives Act from 30 years to 20 years for most records.
