Gladstone Regional Council has signed up as a supporter of this year’s International Access to Information Day (IAI Day) which takes place on 28 September.
Last year’s theme was ‘Digital inclusion: Connecting people to information’.
Digital inclusion is about ensuring that all Australians can access and use digital technologies effectively. We are now experiencing an accelerating digital transformation in many aspects of economic and social life. Everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from digital technologies: to manage their health, access education and services, participate in cultural activities, organise their finances, follow news and media, and connect with family, friends, and the wider world. This extends to using digital technologies to access government-held information or exercise information access rights.
Our Council supports a culture of openness, transparency and accountability and we are committed to improving access to information consistent with the Right to Information Act 2009 and the Information Privacy Act 2009.
IAI Day is a timely opportunity to raise awareness about information access rights and how greater openness builds trust between government and the community.
If you are interested in finding out more you can watch a free talk by Ms Talei Elu, Seisia community member and 2023 Young Australian of the Year for Queensland, who will deliver the 2023 Solomon Lecture on ‘The Story of Seisia – How access to information in remote Indigenous communities can help to solve complex problems.’
Ms Elu will share her story about how the people of Seisia harnessed the information and contacts they had to lobby for better telecommunications infrastructure, ultimately securing a $1.09 million tower through the Regional Connectivity Program.
Find out more and watch the Solomon Lecture here.
For more information visit www.gladstone.qld.gov.au/right-information or www.oic.qld.gov.au