Australia is becoming a surveillance state • Hacker News Board

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#91

Post by BLKNSLVR » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:41 AM UTC

BFLpL0QNek wrote: post #68

L_226 wrote: post #66

Since leaving Australia (and started living in Europe) I have come to the conclusion that Australia is not a "real" country - it is just a continent owned by corporate interests that happens to also have people living on it. Corporate interests own the media, politicians, food production, education etc. and no one cares, because Life Is Good. Why expect anything to change, or people to care about strong democratic in…

This was written in 1964 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country , it still rings true today.

Have to quote this bit for those too lazy to follow the link:

Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#92

Post by h0l0cube » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:41 AM UTC

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #78

lethologica wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what are we Aussies missing out on then?

You don't because you are living in a period where everything is wonderul for Australia. You know what they say: everybody is a genius in a bull market. So you have sun, good food, plenty of money and little immigration. Life is good (if you are not living in the desert naked). Unfortunatly, there is nowhere in the world where things stay nice and easy. The run ended in europe after 1970, it ended in the US after 199…

> The run ended in europe after 1970, it ended in the US after 1990 and it will end in Autralia.

I wouldn't be so sure that they'll ever need to abandon their crutch of geological resources. There's nothing particularly industrious or forward-looking about Australia, precisely because they can dig up dirt and sell it at a premium.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#93

Post by shric » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:41 AM UTC

fractallyte wrote: post #69

The TV mini-series "Secret City" ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4976512/ ) was courageous in its depiction of the growing surveillance state in Australia. (And it stars Anna Torv, from "Fringe", but with her native accent! ;-)

Especially as it was supported by the government.

Fringe and Mindhunter :)

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#94

Post by trissylegs » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:43 AM UTC

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #78

lethologica wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what are we Aussies missing out on then?

You don't because you are living in a period where everything is wonderul for Australia. You know what they say: everybody is a genius in a bull market. So you have sun, good food, plenty of money and little immigration. Life is good (if you are not living in the desert naked). Unfortunatly, there is nowhere in the world where things stay nice and easy. The run ended in europe after 1970, it ended in the US after 199…

Australia's economy is pretty dependent on Coal, Aluminum and Gas. Two of these a hopefully going away soon but the Government is so In bed with mining and they throw more money at elections than every other sector put together that nothing will done about it until it collapses.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#95

Post by joshsyn » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:43 AM UTC

taberiand wrote: post #46

joshsyn wrote: post #11

hope to leave this country for good sooner or later. Lot of complicit people willing to trade-off freedom for false sense of security.

A whole lot more people simply don't think about it at all.

Which is exactly the kind of complicitness I have an issue with. I don't believe in giving bureaucrats enormous power over an individual. Freedom is easy to give away, hard to take back. Plenty of examples around, why.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#96

Post by logicchains » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:43 AM UTC

vagrantJin wrote: post #51

RileyJames wrote: post #8

Since 2015 and the meta data laws it’s no wonder things have continued to get worse. There was practically no opposition to the meta data laws. No popular resistance. No protests. It’s a non-issue for the public or political class. The extent to which non-tech people in my social circles care is to switch to signal. Not that they’ve stopped using the other tools. There seems to be a “what else can we do” attitude. Un…

National security of Australia? What? Security from who?

China-funded paramilitary dropbear gangs, obviously

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#97

Post by BLKNSLVR » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:43 AM UTC

logicchains wrote: post #88

charbonneau wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't expect you to understand, but in Europe, people actually care about their rights [1]. There are weekly protests with lots of impact [2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28139889 [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/10/protest-stop-c...

>I don't expect you to understand, but in Europe, people actually care about their rights [1] That's a bit condescending. In recent weeks there were tens of thousands of people marching on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne to protest covid lockdowns and defend their right to free assembly.

Fucking perfect example. Exemplifies exactly the things that get Australians hot and bothered enough to protest - getting it totally and absolutely arse-about.

Perfect example, nicely done.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#98

Post by thomasfromcdnjs » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:44 AM UTC

joshsyn wrote: post #11

hope to leave this country for good sooner or later. Lot of complicit people willing to trade-off freedom for false sense of security.

I'm going off grid first, and then hope to move overseas too.

I can't stand how many rules there are now, just doesn't suit my personality type.

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#99

Post by shric » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:44 AM UTC

b3n wrote: post #27

_abox wrote: post #18

Unfortunately we're all becoming surveillance states :( So many European countries are now requiring people to ID themselves and get a QR code scanned at every shop, every restaurant, every public transport journey. All combining to a detailed digital record of who has been where. Under the guise of protecting against COVID but who says this will disappear once the pandemic is over? I think we're going too far to acc…

> and get a QR code scanned at every shop, every restaurant How does this work for those who don't own a smartphone?

They'll provide a sheet of paper. For some reason since covid I always forget to bring my phone when going out in Australia

Re: Australia is becoming a surveillance state

#100

Post by bradrn » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 11:44 AM UTC

logicchains wrote: post #88

charbonneau wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't expect you to understand, but in Europe, people actually care about their rights [1]. There are weekly protests with lots of impact [2]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28139889 [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/10/protest-stop-c...

>I don't expect you to understand, but in Europe, people actually care about their rights [1] That's a bit condescending. In recent weeks there were tens of thousands of people marching on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne to protest covid lockdowns and defend their right to free assembly.

> tens of thousands of people marching on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne to protest covid lockdowns and defend their right to free assembly

As an Aussie I must say that I see these protests rather differently. For better or worse, Australia has gotten used to having zero COVID: people here tend to see the protesters not as brave individuals defending their rights, but as idiots who recklessly endanger the lives of others by spreading disease through a largely unvaccinated populace. Many people here are of the opinion that some ‘fundamental’ rights can and should be suspended in a critical emergency.