2018-08-15
Wednesday, 15 August
The Labor party has once again fallen into line behind the government in their appalling intrusions into the privacy and online security of Australians by voting down a Greens motion today in the Senate.
The motion, moved by Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John, called on the government to get a warrant before harvesting our metadata, accessing our medical records and intercepting our communications, whilst maintaining the integrity of end-to-end encryption.
“It is gravely concerning to me as it should be to all Australians that the Labor Party continues to side with the government on matters that so blatantly diminish our basic human rights; privacy and the presumption of innocence,” Senator Steele-John said today.
“Minister Hunt recently backed down, after millions of Australians opted out of My Health for fears of a data breach, and stated that the legislation would be amended to ensure no record could be released without a court order.
“Getting a warrant should be a base line requirement, not a gold standard. It’s absolutely hypocritical for this government to continue harvesting our metadata without one. What’s good for My Health is good for our data in all other contexts.
“It is even more outrageous that this government is actively attempting to undermine the very purpose of end-to-end encryption.
“Doing so will introduce weaknesses into communications systems and devices that can be exploited by third parties, and will ultimately undermine the security and privacy of every single Australian online.
“Australians deserve to know that Labor is complicit in the extreme over-reach of this government; only the Greens will continue to fight for the integrity of encryption to be maintained, and for the presumption of innocence to be upheld.”
Media contact: Tim Oliver - 0448 316 387