The DIDU Association responds to the joint press release from the ADINJC & DIA of 20/03/14 and the press release from DISC of 17/03/14
DIDU published the official minutes of the NASG meeting, held on 7th March 2014, into a private members section of their forum and into the DIDU blog which can be accessed by others as well as members.
However, this should not have come as any surprise to any of the members of the NASG as DIDU made a formal request to the independent minute taker and the whole group, via the full addressee list of the NASG on Friday 14th March 2014 at 1716hrs with the following request: "Hi Sue, just wondering if it is possible to have the final version of the minutes so I can release them to our members? Kind Regards, Cam."
DIDU published the official minutes of the NASG meeting into a private members section of their forum and into the DIDU blog, which can be accessed by others as well as members.
This was a full 48 hour delay before they were released by DIDU, yet no one raised concerns to suggest that any of its contents should be protected or redacted. It now appears that these minutes were published, probably in haste, as it is conceded that an element of our discussions referred to an individual who did not have a right of reply and this should have been redacted. As a result, an immediate apology was sent to the individual who was the subject of those discussions. This was a single error which was rectified quickly.
The whole meeting was an "on the record" meeting, (not under the protection of Chatham House Rule (CHR) and with which DIDU fundamentally disagree) and given those circumstances and that there was no response from any member of the NASG to the contrary, it was felt they could be posted in full.
DIDU has a constitutional obligation to report accurately and openly to its membership and in plain English and without embellishment.
In the joint statement it is suggested that "despite previously agreeing clear and reasonable terms of reference to enable us all to work