Wob (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur) | Zondag met Lubach (S13)

Summary

The transcript discusses the challenges of transparency in government through the Dutch law, 'Wet openbaarheid van bestuur' (Wob). It highlights the frequent use of blacked-out documents and withheld information, making it difficult for citizens and journalists to hold the government accountable. Examples include censored government records, delayed responses, and legal battles to access information. Despite attempts to improve transparency, such as the new 'Wet open overheid,' the lack of real change and loopholes, like shielding personal opinions of officials, frustrates efforts for true openness in a democratic society.

Takeaways

• 🇳🇱 The Dutch democratic system allows for elections, judicial review, and limited powers for the king.
• 🔓 An essential element of democracy is government transparency, which requires openness from all levels of government, including municipalities and provinces.
• 📜 The Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (WOB) allows citizens to request government information, but in practice, not all information is made available or is heavily redacted.
• ⚖️ The government often censors documents by blacking out large portions, sometimes leaving only trivial words visible, making it hard for citizens to understand the full context.
• 🖍️ Journalists and citizens frequently face challenges when requesting information, receiving documents that are mostly redacted, as seen with 98 blacked-out pages provided to Omroep Zeeland.
• 📱 Recent years have seen government officials illegally withholding digital communications, like SMS and WhatsApp messages, which also fall under WOB regulations.
• ❌ The government sometimes denies the existence of documents, as was the case when RTL News requested information about the prosecution of Geert Wilders.
• 💡 Courts have ruled against the government in 58% of cases where WOB-related documents were withheld, indicating widespread misuse of redaction and censorship practices.
• 📖 The term 'Rutte Doctrine' has emerged to describe the consistent withholding of information by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's administration.
• 🇸🇪 Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden provide better transparency models, with shorter response times and centralized registers for government documents.

Q & A

What is a fundamental aspect of democracy mentioned in the script?

An open government is a fundamental aspect of democracy, ensuring transparency and accountability.

What does the Dutch 'Wet Openbaarheid van Bestuur' (WOB) law enable citizens to do?

The WOB law allows citizens to request government documents to see how decisions were made and what has been done by the government.

What are some issues mentioned with WOB requests?

Government agencies sometimes redact (black out) large portions of documents, making them unreadable, or claim that documents do not exist.

What is an example of misuse of document redaction under WOB mentioned in the script?

Sometimes entire documents are blacked out except for a few words like 'the' and 'and,' which obscures the document’s true content.

Why did some journalists claim the government hides information using 'personal policy opinions'?

Officials can redact parts of documents labeled as 'personal policy opinions,' which is sometimes used to hide important information unnecessarily.

What problem did a local broadcaster in Zeeland face regarding a subsidy for a tidal power plant?

The broadcaster received 98 pages of documents that were almost entirely blacked out, hiding crucial information about how millions in subsidies were used.

How does the government sometimes respond to WOB requests regarding digital communications?

The government can claim that digital communications, such as SMS or WhatsApp messages, do not fall under WOB requests, though they legally should.

What has the 'Rutte Doctrine' come to signify in Dutch politics?

The 'Rutte Doctrine' refers to a culture of withholding information from parliament and the public, characterized by non-disclosure or minimal record-keeping.

How do Scandinavian countries differ in their approach to government transparency?

Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden have more transparent systems, where citizens can access clear registers of government documents.

What is the 'Wet Open Overheid' (WOO), and how does it compare to the WOB?

The WOO was introduced as a more transparent successor to the WOB, but many of its key features for greater transparency were removed, making it ineffective in many ways.