While freedom of information might appear to be a radical idea - and some within the political establishment here fought very hard against it - it is not a new idea.

It was first formulated in Sweden in 1766 as a Freedom of the Press Act, which has since been incorporated into the Swedish constitution and now guarantees access to all public documents.

How seriously do the Swedes take freedom of information? Well, not only can a civil servant leak information, but no one can investigate the leak. Furthermore, a journalist can be prosecuted if he or she discloses the name of the source who leaked information. The rule in Sweden is that the information is important, not the person who put it in the public domain.

According to Sweden's Ministry of Justice, the reason for public access to official documents is to facilitate the free democratic exchange of views, thereby contributing to the democratic legitimacy of decisions. Other reasons are it "strengthens the control of the administration by the public and the media, and contrives to making the administration more efficient".

An important principle is that the public and the media have access to the information they want, rather than rely on what is handed out. That is why public activities have to operate in such a way that maximum amounts of information is available. Some local authorities, for instance, send local media a fax every day containing the subject matter of all the letters received and another listing all the letters being sent out. Journalists can then ask for the letters and all the documents relating to the subject of the letter.

The US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada all have freedom of information acts and access to information has become part of their political cultures. Since last April, an increasing number of journalists, politicians, business interests and ordinary citizens here have at last gained access to information. The culture of secrecy is at last changing.