The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is pleased to announce the members of the Interim Working Group for Australia’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.

The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative with nearly 70 member countries worldwide. The Partnership aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. The Australian Government agreed to seek membership in November 2015.

The Interim Working Group, comprising equal representation of government officials and civil society members, will consider and prioritise commitments for possible inclusion in Australia’s first National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership. The National Action Plan will be considered by the Government before its submission to the Open Government Partnership by 1 November 2016.

The civil society representatives provide a diversity of experience across the spectrum of open government issues, and bring a wide variety of backgrounds and skillsets. Civil society will be represented by:

• Ms Fiona McLeod SC (co-chair): President-elect of the Law Council of Australia;
• The Hon. Dr Ken Coghill: Deputy Chair and Treasurer of the Accountability Round Table;
• Ms Maree Adshead: CEO of ODI Queensland;
• Mr Peter Timmins: Interim Convenor of the Australian OGP Civil Society Network;
• Mr Mark Zirnsak: Director of Justice and International Mission, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Uniting Church in Australia; and
• Ms Katherine Szuminska: Co-Founder and Director of the OpenAustralia Foundation.

The government representatives will be:

• Dr Steven Kennedy (co-chair): Deputy Secretary, Innovation & Transformation, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;
• Dr Stein Helgeby: Deputy Secretary, Governance & APS Transformation, Department of Finance;
• Mr Iain Anderson: Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice and Corporate Group, Attorney-General’s Department;
• Mr Timothy Pilgrim: Australian Privacy Commissioner and Acting Australian Information Commissioner;
• Ms Anne Lyons: Assistant Director-General, Government Information Assurance & Policy, National Archives of Australia; and
• Senior executive (TBA): Treasury.

The NSW Information Commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Tydd, will also be a non-voting jurisdictional member, reflecting the Commonwealth’s desire to build stronger relationships with the states on open government matters.

The Interim Working Group will continue engaging with all interested parties as they work together to co-draft Australia’s first National Action Plan.

For further information on the Interim Working Group and Australia’s participation in the Open Government Partnership, please visit the OGP Australia blog.