3Object of Act

#### 3 Object of Act 3 Object of Act > > (1) In order to maintain and advance a system of responsible and representative democratic Government that is open, accountable, fair and effective, the object of this Act is to open government information to the public by— > > > > > (a) authorising and encouraging the proactive public release of government information by agencies, and > > > > > (b) giving members of the public an enforceable right to access government information, and > > > > > (c) providing that access to government information is restricted only when there is an overriding public interest against disclosure. > > > (2) It is the intention of Parliament— > > > > > (a) that this Act be interpreted and applied so as to further the object of this Act, and > > > > > (b) that the discretions conferred by this Act be exercised, as far as possible, so as to facilitate and encourage, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost, access to government information.