It's fair to say that Bermuda and the Cayman Islands have a friendly rivalry on most things.

Both are British Overseas Territories, both are strong financial centres, albeit with slightly different specialities, both are tourism destinations and they have roughly similar populations.

To some extent, Bermuda has prided itself on being slightly ahead of Cayman in terms of regulation and self-government, and it can be argued that Cayman has tended to follow the Bermuda model in the economy and politics.

But Cayman definitely got the jump on Bermuda on its Freedom of Information Act, which came into effect this week.

Having begun looking at legislation, at about the same time as Bermuda, Cayman now has its law up and running.

Acting Premier Paula Cox said this week: "Public Access to Information legislation is consistently moving forward in the legislative process. The Bermuda Government's commitment to and position on PATI is unchanged."

There is every reason to believe Ms Cox, and it may be that PATI will come into effect in the next 12 months.

But that does not change the fact that it is not, and has not been, a priority for this Government since Alex Scott was deposed by Dr. Ewart Brown as Premier.

Mr. Scott — who commissioned a discussion paper on PATI in 2005 — said this week he had hoped Bermuda would be the first territory to lead the way forward on transparency.

"It wouldn't be a bad marker if we were to be the second British territory or just one of the British territories that did what I think most progressive governments are doing now and that is making information available to the public," he said.

Mr. Scott added: "We have a public undertaking by the Attorney General that her office is proceeding and so let's hope that they are doing so in a timely fashion and results will be forthcoming."

This newspaper hopes so too.

The major point here is that PATI will make access to information easier for the ordinary person, and, as Mr. Scott has constantly been at pains to point out, it can make Government look better too.

A Government that is well managed, efficient and transparent has nothing to lose from PATI, and the law can become another "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval", because Bermuda's international partners expect it these days.

The risk for Bermuda now is that the longer it takes for legislation to be produced and passed, the more people will wonder just what Bermuda is hiding.

And while Government claims it is transparent and open, the reality is otherwise. Too often, information is not released, or when it is, it is selective and "spun" in way aimed at making Government look good, regardless of the real facts.

PATI creates a legislative framework that demands the release of information, and does not leave it to the discretion of whoever happens to be in power at any time, and how can that be a bad thing?