Media consultant and researcher Gavin Ellis pointed out public access to information held by local authorities was a right, not a privilege.
‘‘If councils impose charges on journalists, they risk limiting media freedom, limiting journalists’ ability to hold power to account, and constraining the public’s right to know,’’ Dr Ellis said.
The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) included provision for councils to charge when requests involved significant research and collation, but they would have to demonstrate clearly in each case such fees were warranted.
Any charging had to be within the spirit of the Act, he said.
The comments from Dr Ellis came after DCC chief executive Sandy Graham said the council had not yet started applying a charging policy, but ‘‘we will’’.
The council would need to employ an extra staff member to handle LGOIMA requests.
Part of this person’s job would likely be to set up a process for applying charges in some cases, Ms Graham told councillors last week.
She was responding to questions from Cr Kevin Gilbert, who sympathised with what staff had to deal with — ‘‘personally . . . I would have pulled my last few hairs out by now’’, he said.
Cr Gilbert highlighted the ‘‘volume, complexity and the serial nature of LGOIMA requests’’ and asked how charging might offset costs and reduce staff workload.
Ms Graham said there was a range of challenges with charging.
She hoped charging would encourage conversations between the LGOIMA officer and people requesting information to refine requests to make them more manageable.
‘‘At the minute, we get omnibus requests — a lot of them from the media — that with a conversation you can then refine down to something that is far more manageable.
‘‘I don’t think you should have any expectation that it will offset the cost of the process, because even the imposition of a charge is subject to review by the ombudsman.’’
There could not be a charge on a request from the point where the ombudsman became involved, she said.
A report for councillors said there had been an increase in the volume and complexity of LGOIMA-related work.
Dr Ellis said a council would need to produce invoices — detailing the research and time spent — to show charges were warranted.
‘‘The provision in the Act is not an invitation to use it as either a disincentive to make requests or an opportunity to recoup costs that the council should bear.’’
Councils had to be aware the ability of news media to pay for information requests was constrained by tight finances.
Dr Ellis said fees could lead to newsrooms ‘‘rationing’’ their requests, making it more difficult for reporters to hold councils to account.
Requests from the Otago Daily Times in recent months have included seeking information about parking enforcement in Dunedin, tallies of council employment settlements that contained confidentiality clauses, and correspondence about Aurora Energy. grant.miller@odt.co.nz
