“There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a swindle, there is not a vice which does not live by secrecy”, said Joseph Pulitzer. Needless secrecy is as difficult to eradicate as the evils which it spawns, though Mr McMillan suggests administrative and legislative techniques that could redress the balance in favour of openness. Much of the article is a discussion of one such technique, freedom of information legislation, and of a report on that topic published in 1976 by an interdepartmental committee established by the Federal Government. By reference to past Australian secrecy, U.S. experience under similar legislation, and bureaucratic inevitability, Mr McMillan argues that legislation based upon the committee’s report would do more to entrench the Administration’s right to withhold official information than to secure the public's right of access to it. Alternative proposals for a freedom of information Act are suggested.

Since this article was written the Federal Government has announced that it will introduce a Freedom of Information Bill after considering the committee’s proposals and comments thereon.

Drug use is a matter of substantial public interest in Australia, and penalties for drug offences were greatly increased in all States in 1976. This article examines the degree to which the Commonwealth can intervene in the field of drug-control law, a field presently governed mainly by State criminal law. Current Federal involvement is mostly confined to Customs legislation, passed under the interstate and overseas trade and commerce power in section 51(i) of the Constitution. This placitum has been expansively interpreted by the High Court in the customs context, but the trade and commerce power has some limitations, and those who have proposed comprehensive national drug legislation suggest that it could be supported by the Commonwealth's power over external affairs. These possibilities are considered, and the author concludes that comprehensive legislation would survive constitutional challenge in the High Court. Some suggestions are also made as to penalties for drug use and dealing.