With that final bold statement the tribunal of inquiry into the airport firefighters’ dispute concluded its report.

The most senior investigation possible under island law chose to focus its last recommendation on the door-closed culture of secrecy that permeates every level of public life in this island.

A more open and transparent States would, it hoped, be the report’s ‘lasting legacy’.

And, to prove it could be done, it showed the way. A website was set up on which were posted daily transcripts of proceedings, written statements of evidence and documents that were central to the facts.

Many of these were included as part of the report so that islanders were left in the unusual position of knowing exactly what their deputies were saying and doing on their behalf.

The tribunal was candid in its reasoning. It knew that Guernsey did not do open government but the three members believed that ‘the very act of accounting for their actions’ would lead civil servants and politicians to justify their decisions and work out how they might do better. This, in turn, would lead to more effective government.

As anyone who has sought to extract information from an obstructive States official or department will know, this is revolution. It constituted, as the report says, ‘an unparalleled degree of openness and accountability’.

But it worked. Despite all this access, the earth has remained spinning on its axis. Everyone, including the people who paid for the inquiry – the public – is simply better informed.

The first step to putting the tribunal’s recommendation into action is to publish every report paid for by the taxpayer. If there is a good reason why not then let’s hear it.

And to show it has heard the tribunal’s message Policy Council can start by releasing the briefing paper on regulation.

The next step is a freedom of information act. The scandal over UK MPs’ expenses is evidence enough that rights to information must be statutory, not customary.
Governments cannot be trusted to judge what is and is not worthy of public knowledge.