Government lawyers are drafting a freedom of information law for Bermuda as a "priority", according to Attorney General Kim Wilson.

Senator Wilson told The Royal Gazette that a consultation draft of the Public Access to Information (PATI) legislation, was being prepared by the legislative drafting section of her Chambers.

"It is one of several priority legislative matters being addressed by Chambers at this time," she said, adding that she could not provide a time frame for completion at this stage. "Once it is drafted it will go back to cabinet for approval to table (in the House of Assembly)."

The news means PATI is a step closer to reality — five years after it was first proposed by former Premier Alex Scott. Mr. Scott told this newspaper he was delighted by Sen. Wilson's statement and urged MPs to give the draft law their full support when it reaches Parliament.

"Obviously I'm tremendously pleased and encouraged that Government is going ahead with their promise to bring PATI legislation before Parliament," he said.

"I think it's a progressive step. I think it's a necessary step. Anything we can do to attract transparency to Government is desirable and in the case of PATI the actual mechanics of making it available and a working entity will take time. The sooner we get started the better.

"I will be most supportive when it comes to Parliament and I encourage members of Parliament on both sides of the House to say 'aye' when the vote is cast."

Mr. Scott said he wanted to express his appreciation publicly to the Premier and the Cabinet and "all those who will be involved in taking on a Herculean task".

"Plaudits to Government for taking this step. This means that just about all the information in the possession of the Government — you can just imagine how much information that is — will have to be processed so that it can be recalled.

"The concept of making the information available to the public is a good one. Now (we need) to make it so the information can be recalled in a timely fashion."

The United Bermuda Party has been calling for freedom of information legislation for several years and included it as an election pledge in its last manifesto.

John Barritt, the Opposition's legislative reform spokesman, said of the latest news: "From my point of view, seeing is believing.

"We had a discussion paper back in 2005 and, while laudable, it seemed a cumbersome way to go about delivering on the commitment.

"Down in the Cayman Islands, one of the parties promised that they would put freedom of information legislation in effect. They had something drafted and circulated within six months.

"All of these things, with a will, can be done. While it's challenging, it's not rocket science. There are public organisations dedicated to helping people draft this legislation. We could even follow the Caymanian model."

In the summer, the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) urged the British Government to "strongly encourage" all the British Overseas Territories to bring in freedom of information. Cayman is the only territory to have passed an FOI law.

Mr. Scott also praised the The Royal Gazette's A Right to Know: Giving People Power campaign for bringing the issue of PATI into the spotlight.

The campaign, launched at the start of 2008, calls for a PATI bill to be tabled in Parliament by the end of the year and for parliamentary committees and other publicly-funded bodies to open up their meetings.

"It was good that you used your column inches to support what I think is an important step," Mr. Scott said. "The media reaches thousands of people every day and it made the public more aware of just the significance of this piece of legislation. I'm sure it (the campaign) was helpful in many different ways.

"Thanks to the editorial staff of The Royal Gazette for their efforts in bringing this legislation to the fore and maybe helping to bring this legislation to Parliament."