How NAIDOC Week Was Celebrated On The Northern Rivers In July 2012

http://debrahnovak.com.au/

Dream Box

ABC Open NSW North Coast

Coffs Harbour

Lismore

Ballina

Tweed Heads

Ashby argues the Constitution made me do it?

Granny Herald carried this last Monday:
“Michael Lee, SC, barrister for Mr Slipper's former media adviser, James Ashby, told the Federal Court he intended to argue Mr Ashby was justified in leaking Mr Slipper's diary extracts under the freedom implied in the constitution to publish material discussing government and political matters.”
Have hours of fun finding this implied freedom to leak in the Australian Constitution here. 

The Federal Government wants to widen its ability to spy on Australian citizens

Australian Attorney General Nicola Roxon wants to declare open season on all taxpayers, retirees, welfare recipients, people with business/home computers or email accounts and those with fixed/mobile phones.

Apparently seeking to widen the ability of six intelligence and security agencies, interception agencies, law enforcement bodies and a range of regulatory bodies such as the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and a range of State and Territory government organisations to intercept/collect data on or surveil any individual (regardless of whether or not they are suspected of breaking the law) and conduct surveillance of or physically search the premises or belongings of any person of interest.

Ms. Roxon appears to expect all Australians to pay, for this increase in electronic data/telecommunications content collection and interference with lawful computer/phone use, through higher telco and internet service provider fees and charges.

It is no co-incidence that last Thursday was first time a director-general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) has spoken publicly since the agency was created 60 years ago - to assure the general public that his agency was an upright, touchy feely agency dedicated to protecting the country from all manner of foes and bogey men.

Unfortunately, these assurances ring hollow for many who have had even a modicum of contact with our home-grown spies.

The Joint Committee media release:

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

MEDIA RELEASE Issued: 9 July 2012

Chair: Hon Anthony Byrne MP Deputy Chair: Hon Philip Ruddock MP

Committee to examine potential reforms of national security legislation

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has commenced an inquiry into potential reforms of national security legislation.

The Government has asked the Committee to consider a package of national security ideas comprising proposals for telecommunications interception reform, telecommunications sector security reform and Australian intelligence community legislation reform. The Inquiry will include examination of:

·         Lawful access to telecommunications, to ensure that investigative tools are not lost as telecommunications providers change their business practices and begin to delete data more regularly.

·         Safeguards and privacy protections, including clarifying the roles of the Commonwealth and state ombudsmen in overseeing telecommunications interception by law enforcement agencies.

·         An authorised intelligence operations scheme, to afford ASIO officers the same protections which currently apply to officers of the Australian Federal Police for authorised operations.

Among a range of other matters, the Committee will consult on measures to address security risks posed to the telecommunications sector, and whether the Government needs to institute obligations on the Australian telecommunications industry to protect their networks from unauthorised interference.

The Chair of the Committee, the Hon Anthony Byrne MP, has welcomed the referral of the inquiry, stating that: “It is vital that our security laws keep pace with the rapid developments in technology”. Commenting on the importance of public input into the Parliament’s examination of the potential reforms, Mr Byrne said the Committee’s inquiry will give the public an opportunity to have a say in the development of new laws in the critical area of national security.

The Committee invites interested persons and organisations to make submissions addressing the terms of reference by Monday, 6 August 2012. The full terms of reference are available on the Committee’s website at: www.aph.gov.au/pjcis.

The Government has provided the Committee with a discussion paper which accompanies the terms of reference and describes the reform proposals. The discussion paper is available on the Committee’s web site. Submitters are strongly encouraged to have regard to the discussion paper in the preparation of submissions for the Committee’s inquiry.

For more information, visit the Committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/pjcis or contact the Committee Secretariat on 02 6277 2360.

Telephone: 02 6277 2360 PO BOX 6021 Facsimile: 02 6277 2067 PARLIAMENT HOUSE Email: pjcis@aph.gov.au CANBERRA ACT 2600 Website: www.aph.gov.au/pjcis

Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v Monsanto: the fight continues

OSGATA July 18 2012:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 17, 2012 – Eleven prominent law professors and fourteen renowned organic, Biodynamic®, food safety and consumer non-profit organizations have filed separate briefs with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit arguing farmers have the right to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement by agricultural giant Monsanto. The brief by the law professors and the brief by the non-profit organizations were filed in support of the seventy-five family farmers, seed businesses, and agricultural organizations representing over 300,000 individuals and 4,500 farms that last year brought a protective legal action seeking a ruling that Monsanto could never sue them for patent infringement if they became contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed. The case was dismissed by the district court in February and that dismissal is now pending review by the Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs recently filed their opening appeal brief with the appeals court……..

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

Anger over NSW Government regional job cuts spreads to Coffs Harbour as the implications sink in

Two quotes from the article Not just yokels in The Coffs Coast Advocate 14 July 2012:

• ·      LOST in translation, as Grafton had all those jobs ripped out of the jail, were the wider implications for us as citizens of the Coffs Coast and others beyond. The knock-on effect of Clarence Valley job losses will be felt in Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Tamworth and even further afield.

• ·     The local member, Mr Gulaptis, may have learned that lesson the hard way in his original stance of eagerly nodding approval to whatever Sydney-centric Premier O'Farrell wanted.  It was almost pitiful to watch the 360-degree backflip with inward pike and the cringeworthy sight of the recently elected politician donning an ill-fitting Save The Gaol shirt once his horrible mistake in misreading the anger was realised. "Me too ... me too ... kick it to me ..." was the thought which came to mind, as he jostled his way to the podium to speak.

An estimated 50 per cent of Twitter, as an Australian public space, now examined

Mapping the Australian Twittersphere

View another webinar from Axel Bruns

http://www.slideshare.net/Snurb/mapping-the-australian-twittersphere-12241579

Snapshots of two Twitter hash tag clusters

Click on clusters to enlarge

Silly secrecy bedevils NSW Nationals

When it comes to the O’Farrell-Stoner Government’s alleged plans to replace jobs lost by its sudden and arbitrary closure of Grafton Gaol this month, this item has to be the height of absurdity.

In The Daily Examiner 21 July 2012:

A spokesman from Mr Stoner's office said yesterday a weekly tally of the sub-committee's progress would not be available, but The Examiner assured the media adviser we'd be seeking updates anyway.

He said the rural and regional sub-committee met regularly and would report back to cabinet within eight weeks.

He did not reply to a request for a full list of members of the sub-committee, but The Examiner will seek this information next week.

What? Clarence Valley voters are not supposed to notice that, besides the NSW Cabinet Sub-Committee on Rural and Regional NSW being chaired by Deputy-Premier and Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner, there are also other government ministers involved?

It doesn't take a genius to work out that the Minister for Local Government and the North Coast, Nationals MP Don Page, is one of those likely to be on this sub-committee - and that having his electoral office at Ballina means he is in easy reach of irate Valley residents should any want to give him the benefit of their pithy personal opinions on the O'Farrell Government's recent cost cutting at their expense.

Update from The Daily Examiner on 24 July 2012 demonstrating the ridiculous position taken by the O'Farrell Government in that a full list of NSW Cabinet ministers is freely available to voters and the media, but the names of ministers sitting on specific cabinet sub-committees are a closely guarded state secret - even though identical confidentiality provisions apply to both Cabinet and its sub-committees:

THE Clarence Valley has been stonewalled by Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner's office which has refused to detail the membership, agenda or meeting schedule of the committee tasked to find new Grafton jobs (within the next seven weeks) following the jail downgrade.
A spokesman for the NSW Nationals leader confirmed his boss chaired the Rural and Regional Sub-Committee but he would not reveal other members because "the sub-committee reports to Cabinet, and as such the matters it discusses are confidential".
"Cabinet confidentiality is a long-standing and fundamental principle of Westminster Government, and just like other jurisdictions, NSW does not publish information regarding Cabinet agendas, discussions, meeting times etc," he said.
"Having said that, the Government is ultimately accountable to the voting public and should be judged on its results.
"Of course, in this instance, the output of the Cabinet and Cabinet sub-committee process will be announced publicly, at which time the Government will fully respond to detailed questions."