International transparency campaigners have praised Bermuda for doing the right thing and finally passing a freedom of information law.

Commentators who have followed the Island's path toward a more open, accountable government said they were pleased the Public Access to Information (PATI) Act 2010 was approved unanimously by MPs in the House of Assembly on Friday night.

Charles Davis, executive director of the US-based National Freedom of Information Coalition, told The Royal Gazette: "This is a landmark day for government transparency in Bermuda, a day that citizens should remember forever.

"The playing field between the governed and the governors just became much more level, and the result will be better performance, more civic input and greater democratic involvement.

"Everybody wins here except for those who wish to do the public's business in the dark."

Toby Mendel, from the Centre for Law and Democracy in Canada, said the fact that the bill had the support of all three political parties was very promising. "It shows that there is a wide base of support for it and that augurs well for the challenging task ahead. That support is really, really important to make sure that it has a good chance of success at the implementation stage."

Mr. Mendel, who analysed the draft legislation when it was first released last year and made a submission to Government, said the final version appeared to be "a very, very strong draft".

He added: "I think that for citizens it will be a fantastic tool and it should open up things in all kinds of ways. It will be a tool that will be used by a lot of different people."

Wesley Gibbings, president of the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers, urged Bermuda to ensure the law was fully embraced by all.

"Access to information laws are now distinguishing features of most modern democracies," he said. "They signal to civil society that official information is not the exclusive property of public officials. Attention must now turn to the quality of the legislation and how pervasive its popular usage will be. It is one thing to say you have such a law and quite another to reap a rich harvest from it in the public interest."I am concerned that years after the passage of such legislation in several Caribbean territories it is not among the most actively employed in the harnessing of public information."

Closer to home, Stuart Hayward, of the Bermuda Environmental & Sustainability Taskforce, complained that Government should have reported back on its public consultation on the PATI bill, which received more than 500 submissions.

"There has been no indication from the Government to the public on what those comments/suggestions were, which were adopted and why, and which were not and why not," he said.

He added that since there was no opportunity to review the public submissions, it was "difficult to feel anything but indifference" about the bill being approved.

US Consul Grace Shelton, whose predecessor Gregory Slayton backed the introduction of PATI, said on Friday: "The US Consulate supports the Government of Bermuda's move towards openness and transparency. Today's passage of the PATI bill is a signal to all that Bermuda believes in the public's right to know."

Psychologist Carol Shuman, a campaigner for justice in the Rebecca Middleton murder case, said: "Right to information is the lifeblood of democracy and absolutely essential to other human rights. All of Bermuda's media can be counted upon to use access to information responsibly,"

Taxpayer Pat Ferguson said: "It's wonderful — we need it. We are supposed to be a democracy so we should be able to access information. It's a human right. As a citizen and taxpayer, it's your right to know what's going on."