Wellington, Dec 9 NZPA - New Zealand's laws relating to official information need looking at again after some 25 years, Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer says. The commission is reviewing the Official Information Act 1982 and parts 1 - 6 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Acts 1987 relating to official information. "The political landscape is different than in the 1980s and advances in information technology have transformed the management of all information," Sir Geoffrey said today. The commission wants to hear from people who make requests for information as well as from officials who process these requests, and has a survey on www.talklaw.co.nz/talkofficialinformation "Freedom of information is a foundation of democracy all round the world and our legislation has been very successful in promoting a culture of open government. This is not in question, but legislation and processes need to be updated to remain effective," Sir Geoffrey said. NZPA WGT nb