Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate • Hacker News Board

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#491

Post by terrywang » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:39 AM UTC

siquick wrote: post #37

I've lived in Australia for 10 years and really considering my familys future in this country. We are sleep-walking towards a very average future. An undiversified export economy, out of control house prices, a job-market primarily focused on two cities, a government intent on selling all public assets, very limited political interest in positive climate policies. The latter is simply addressed with "technology will…

This is going to happen sooner or later, the pandemic accelerated it, exploiting and abusing the liberty of people will be the new norm - 1984.

Observation: at least in NSW it seems that most people trust the government and cooperate with government orders (Digital Tran formation for public service is on the right track, see the delivery of digital driver licence and all other perks and all other self-service integrated services, at the cost of giving up some personal info and privacy (state government says that we can trust them for securing the data/info)...

I have been living in Sydney, Australia since 2008. Agree that country is facing tough and worrying economic outlook for the 2020's. It was seriously `lucky country` (mining boom, Rise of China, etc.) when I first landed in SYD, however, with the deterioration of Australia-China relationship, and the undiversified economy structure (mining, education, tourism, etc.), the "lucky country" is going downhill towards the "luckin coffee" direction LMAO.

The country is run by politicians holding law and/or accounting degrees with no social responsibility or morals (in comparison with Germany and northern Europe), who are good at making taxation (or similar) laws but with no vision for the country's future (geopolitical influence, economy, etc.). Most people underestimate the stupidity of government and central banks, keep printing $ (QE) and pump the money to the banking system, making the asset bubbles bigger, while failing to stimulate the real economy, most $ went into the construction industry)

All bubbles pop, there is no exit strategy for QE... Recently watched "The Big Short" again and seriously history is repeating itself, so similar. Good luck to the people live in the "lucky country", keep doing what you believe is right, manage risks well (I know many family highly leveraged into investment properties), stay healthy stay sharp ;-)

"The world is sinking, people ware partying."

  Housing "un"affordability will cause negative consequences for the society: psychological problems -> family problems -> community problems -> social problems. Politicians don't care, only focus on winning the next election, they they come and go, they've got their exit route well covered...

NOTE: Recently Deirdré Straughan moved to Australia with Brendan Gregg, you may be interested to know some of the reasons behind the move, I assure you that will be good reads: https://www.beginningwithi.com/category/women-in-technology/

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#492

Post by quickthrower2 » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:40 AM UTC

roody15 wrote: post #269

I simply cannot wrap my mind around what is happening in Australia. Continuing a lockwdown while the number of positive covid cases remains in the low hundreds and the daily death rate in the lower tens to single digits. Nothing makes sense here. Draconian laws, complete shutdown over something that is and has been statistically under control and managed from months. Am I alone here or do people really think what is…

I’m happy with lockdowns. I think they should have locked down sooner in NSW for the current outbreak.

The alternative is just let a shitload of people die because it enough ventilators to have 100k cases.

I’m not happy with the vaccination sagas and lack of care with the index case that caused the outbreak though.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#493

Post by softveda » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:41 AM UTC

mdoms wrote: post #57

siquick wrote: post #37

I've lived in Australia for 10 years and really considering my familys future in this country. We are sleep-walking towards a very average future. An undiversified export economy, out of control house prices, a job-market primarily focused on two cities, a government intent on selling all public assets, very limited political interest in positive climate policies. The latter is simply addressed with "technology will…

I lived in Australia for 5 years and my sense is that, as harsh as it sounds, Australia needs to go through an extreme hardship to wake up as a nation. Australia has lived true to its moniker as the Lucky Country - at least two full generations of Australians have never witnessed economic hardship or downturn of any kind. Natural disasters pass the nation by (other than wildfires). Even Covid looked like it was going…

It will not happen. As luck would have it next generation energy will be renewables, Solar, Lithium and Hydrogen. Australia is chock full of these. Steel will still be required and Australia will start producing coal free steel from Hydrogen. The current government has a backwards policy right now but it will change rapidly. The wheels are in motion and can't be stopped.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#494

Post by Honga » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:44 AM UTC

ErikVandeWater wrote: post #445

jakequade wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have punitive anti-drinking policy, and a racial group susceptible to that problem, it becomes a racist policy. There's alternatives that don't set people with problems back even further.

> If you have punitive anti-drinking policy, and a racial group susceptible to that problem, it becomes a racist policy. No it doesn't. A law does not become racist when one race disproportionately breaks it, otherwise every law everywhere would be racist.

I think you could also take in to the willful enforcement as another aspect to the law.

For instance, ACT police are known for not drug testing for cocaine, whereas meth and speed are. (At traffic stops).

This causes the rich, who can afford to take coke, to continue with their lifestyle, and punishes the poor. Using the justification of moral corruption.

For what it's worth, I am Australian, am ashamed of the countries history of treating the rightful owners of the land, but do agree that the alcohol issue is something that has more nuance than appears to outsiders.

Other things that are supposed to address the same issue, such as demonizing social benefits spending with budget control debit cards are outrageous. They are just weapons of the election cycle, and a way to recover campaign funds at the expense to the countries public.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#495

Post by quickthrower2 » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:45 AM UTC

roody15 wrote: post #369

0xdeadb00f wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This talk about "Draconian" lockdown in Australia needs to stop. Our privacy and digital rights laws are awful. But the lockdowns are necessary. NSW had upward of 1000+ cases and that's why they're (still) in a strict lockdown. QLD and i beleive WA as well for example are not in lockdown at all because of their much much lower daily cases. Also, "50 cases in a nation of millions"? I dont know where you're getting you…

1200+ cases in NSW out of a population of over 8 million. So we should extend a strict lockdown … to do what exactly? Is the plan to manage this virus with a series of alternating lockdowns and get the number of cases to zero? Is this realistic, is this the type of world you want to live in? The virus appears to be as contagious as chicken pox, vaccines help with serious cases but are doing little unfortunately to st…

To answer the last question they plan to open up once double vaccination rates hit a target I think 80%. I think this makes sense.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#496

Post by softveda » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:45 AM UTC

vncecartersknee wrote: post #123

King-Aaron wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, stop repeatedly voting for blatantly corrupt parties, for one. The current LNP are so actively corrupt with their corporate interests, religious interests, repeated exposed in-house scandals, etc, yet the majority of the population continue to vote for them because they ignore it all and just keep supporting 'their team'. The Labor government tries to suggest that they're different, and end up with their own…

Why do you think that people keep voting for the blatantly corrupt LNP? and why are the other parties above becoming corrupt? Is it possible that the LNP are constantly in power because they are corrupt?

3 things. 1. People always look after their back pocket. Any policy that reduce income or wealth is a vote loser 2. Rupert Murdoch owns a majority of print and TV media and has extreme bias for the conservative govt. People do not see any other viewpoints. 3. Extreme divide between rural and urban population. It is impossible to satisfy both. A pro-climate change policy in urban Sydney is a vote killer in regional Queensland.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#497

Post by fancy_hammer » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:46 AM UTC

Aerroon wrote: post #225

I'm always kind of surprised by people who move to Australia. It's a country that has had an active policy of censorship on entertainment for a very long time - books, video games, movies. The fact that the populace is okay with such a policy would make me reconsider moving there. I've also read some really questionable things about policies regarding aboriginals in the northern territories. In 2007 the government 't…

> I'm always kind of surprised by people who move to Australia. It's a country that has had an active policy of censorship on entertainment for a very long time - books, video games, movies. The fact that the populace is okay with such a policy would make me reconsider moving there.

On my list of things to be concerned about as an Australian, censorship of media is pretty low down. It's not something we run up against in day to day life.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#498

Post by JimTheMan » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:47 AM UTC

yesenadam wrote: post #406

Aerroon wrote: post #225

I'm always kind of surprised by people who move to Australia. It's a country that has had an active policy of censorship on entertainment for a very long time - books, video games, movies. The fact that the populace is okay with such a policy would make me reconsider moving there. I've also read some really questionable things about policies regarding aboriginals in the northern territories. In 2007 the government 't…

> I'm always kind of surprised by people who move to Australia. It's a country that has had an active policy of censorship on entertainment for a very long time - books, video games, movies. The fact that the populace is okay with such a policy would make me reconsider moving there. That seems very bizarre to me. I'm not sure what you're talking about here exactly, what you've heard/read. Compared to which countries?…

For the day to day, actual lived life of an Australian, I can't think of any media I want that I cannot get.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#499

Post by bserge » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:48 AM UTC

gorwell wrote: post #429

Nursie wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ban on alcohol in some communities is (AFAICT) welcomed by those communities, which have massive problems with it. There are laws in other states which allow people to declare their house a “dry place” which is then enforceable by law, to try to stop anyone from bringing alcohol into the house. I can’t tell you whether any of these measures work, but they aren’t implemented for reasons of racist suppression, from…

As the Australian government rapidly moves toward an authoritarian police state, does part of you wonder if they'd be so cavalier if their citizens had guns? Or if that might be a deterrent to tyranny at some point?

You imagine some ragtag groups fighting against the police and military with the guns they bought a decade or two ago?

Personal ownership of guns doesn't help that much. You need a lot of people, a lot of organized people. At which point you can acquire or even create the weapons you need.

Re: Australia’s new mass surveillance mandate

#500

Post by walkhour » Wed, Sep 08, 2021, 6:51 AM UTC

SilverRed wrote: post #300

alliao wrote: post #207

CCP is literally cancer on all citizens living in currently free democracy. They show that it's possible to keep a huge population under control with current tools and technology. Our politicians show public disdain, but fuck are they being seduced. And Australia is just stepping into it step by step while asking it's citizens to trust the government because they seem to be at odds with CCP publicly. As someone who l…

The difference is the CCP is more aligned with the best interests of the country (not so much as individuals but as a whole) while Australian politicians are only interested in their own profits and those of their friends.

This is simply because the CCP has a lower time preference and Australian politicians are out of the government in a few years