That thirty-day guarantee, again

A Progressive Conservative government will... release to the public every government-commissioned report within 30 days of receiving it, indicate the action government will take on a report's recommendations within 60 days, and ensure prompt public access to all government reports in hard copy and on the Internet.

Ah, simpler times.

Today, July 25th, 2008, Fire and Emergency Services – Newfoundland and Labrador (Fire and Emergency Services – Newfoundland Labrador, surely? - ed.) released something called the Northern Avalon Peninsula Radio Assessment Report.

The date on the report? March 31, 2008.

That's 116 days later, almost four times as long as the thirty-day guarantee.

Speaking of which, again back in March, on the fourth, to be precise, Rob Antle reported for the Telegram:

The Williams administration says its promised policy of making all government-commissioned reports public within 30 days of their completion remains in effect, despite some recent exceptions.

Officials in the premier's office said the government is now reviewing its files to see what other unreleased reports may be gathering dust.

"There are instances when that deadline simply cannot be met due to a variety of issues," Elizabeth Matthews, a spokeswoman for Premier Danny Williams, said Monday.

A month and a day later, Antle followed up with this April 5th report:

A search for government-commissioned reports that should have been made public under the Williams administration's promised 30-day rule has now exceeded 30 days, with no indication of whether any such reports exist, or when they will be released.

Officials in the premier's office did not provide information on the results of the search before deadline, following Telegram inquiries on the issue Thursday and Friday.

It is now 143 days after March 4th.

Elizabeth Matthews' coordinates are:

Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960, 709-693-7291
elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca