- Traditionally, bells have tolled as a warning of danger.
On January 1st this year, millions of Australians participated in the "ringing
of the bells", marking the beginning of Centenary of Federation celebrations.
Bells in halls, churches, towns and suburbs chimed in unison. Few realised
the ironic significance of this event. The bells that chimed in celebration
might just have easily been ringing out a chilling warning - that freedom
in Australia is coming to an end.1
-
- This article examines how rights and freedoms that were
once the cornerstone of Australian nationhood have been stripped away by
creeping and insidious bureaucratic laws that pervade almost every aspect
of our lives. Most of us believe that we are 'free' and will quickly parrot
rhetoric about living in a democracy and a society that offers 'a fair
go' for all. However, the reality is that Australia is evolving into a
big brother totalitarian style state.
-
- The burgeoning power of government to interfere in and
determine people's lives is of major concern to civil libertarians. Political
activists are increasingly raising concerns about the subtle psychological
conditioning of the population which occurs as more and more citizens immerse
themselves in a spurious culture of consumerism. The majority appear apathetic
and indifferent, happy to let the nanny state take care of things. Academics
cautiously refer to this listlessness as the dumbing down of the nation.2
Mired in the illusion of freedom, we seem to have turned into complacent
participants in our own slavery.
-
- Tracking Your Every Movement
-
- From dawn to dusk, the routine events of life are being
tracked, recorded and analysed. Cheaper computing power and a vastly expanding
Internet - Australia now has the second highest Internet use in the world
- have enabled businesses, government agencies and many others to watch
what was once unwatchable and glean meaning and profit from everyday activities.3
Data giants such as Kerry Packer's Axciom have created dossiers containing
names, addresses, incomes, purchases and other details about millions of
Australians. Profile specialists make models of what consumers are likely
to do or buy. All the while, data miners look for data to sell.
-
- Tracking technologies are now ubiquitous. The revolution
in information technology means that surveillance of our daily activities
has become cheap and easy. In the 1970s the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies declared that EFTPOS could be employed as a universal, unobtrusive
surveillance system to keep track of a person's movements. Australians
have embraced EFTPOS since its introduction in the early 1980s. As the
financial institutions say, it is now 'Everybody's Favourite Way To Pay
For Something'! Besides the potential for unobtrusive individual surveillance,
EFTPOS has provided supermarkets with the ability to collect information
about shopping habits, allowing stores to offer discounts and special promotions
to keep profitable customers coming back.
-
- When people visit their favourite Web sites, a computer
is almost certainly watching. Most Web sites use 'cookies,' strings of
numbers and symbols that enable the site to track online movements. On
the way home from work, a typical family might use a loyalty card to receive
a discount on groceries. The grocery store records every purchase made
and adds those details to a database file. The grocery's marketers use
the database to track eating and spending habits, and to make personalised
offers to customers.
-
- On the highways and by-ways the surveillance cameras
are rolling. Safe-T-Cam, a network of big brother cameras installed on
the highways in New South Wales, monitors entry to the state and keeps
speeding trucks in check. In Melbourne Transurban, the owner of the CityLink
tollway, plans to photograph cars that use the tollway illegally, without
an e-tag or a day pass. The information will be passed to police for further
action.
-
- There are now more than 500,000 surveillance cameras
installed across Australia. They monitor everything from shopping malls
to roads, national parks and housing estates. They have even been installed
in schools, on the pretext of combating drug use. These silent sentinels
are akin today to what the Babushkas were to Stalinist Russia. The Babushkas
where elderly women, usually grandmothers, employed by the state to sit
at the entrance of apartment blocks to monitor tenants and visitors. They
would report suspicious activities to the secret police.
-
- Just 15 years ago Australians took to the streets to
protest against the introduction of an identity card. Now we can't wait
for our nightly instalment of Big Brother on TV. In France, civil libertarians
dumped manure at the production studios where Big Brother was being made.
In the land down under, Big Brother does not even disturb or challenge
consciousness, as viewers switch on to be routinely chloroformed by a minutiae
of celebrities' lives. Big Brother has become an entertaining spectacle,
not a concept to be treated with suspicion.
-
- New Privacy Violations
-
- Australians are becoming more and more willing to give
up their privacy for whatever degree of convenience they can get. The revolution
in information technology has resulted in mass acceptance of computer technology,
applied in all aspects of life. Things which even a decade ago would have
revolted most Australians - microchipping domestic pets, smart cards, biometric
identification, surveillance cameras - are now embraced as the triumphs
of the information revolution and an imperative element of the 'safety'
society. Soft sister has replaced big brother.
-
- Continuing privacy invasive proposals by the federal
government are omnipresent. Proposals for the use of political control
technologies frequently used in tin pot dictatorships are a high priority
on the agenda. There have been numerous proposals for Medicare databases,
to be operated by the Health Insurance Commission. In 1996, the Australian
Electoral Commission, drawing on advice from ASIO, proposed the introduction
of a biometric voter identification card "for democracy". In
the wake of the country's first DNA testing of an entire male population
at Wee Waa, there were renewed calls for a national DNA database for criminals.
Most recently, a new ID card proposed by the federal Justice department
would force every Australian citizen to provide DNA samples and undergo
eyeball retina scans which would form part of the card.
-
- The unleashing of Australia's New Tax System, supported
by both political parties, has consigned millions of small and micro businesses
to relative insignificance when compared to the powerful institutions which
spy on their incomes. Masses of people feel deeply insecure in this world
of dislocation and rapid change. The New Tax System, the cause of economic
strangulation for many, has forced taxpayers to become unpaid tax collectors,
drowning in a mountain of paperwork imposed by trivial record keeping and
documentation requirements. Under the new system, payments in cash are
becoming suspicious, the implication being that 'legitimate' businesses
will conduct transactions electronically.
-
- While government scare tactics had everyone clamouring
to 'register' for an Australian Business Number (ABN), few stopped to investigate
the real significance of the sweeping changes that were being introduced.
The ABN is a public number that anyone can verify. The real big brother
bogey is the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), issued to everyone who
applied for an ABN. At present, only those who do business with the Australian
Tax Office online have received their DSC's - the rest lie in wait. In
the context of the Internet, digital signature schemes are being devised
to force individuals to identify themselves consistently when communicating
electronically. No one is yet proposing that possession of a digital signature
be compulsory, and some might think its 'optional' or 'voluntary' nature,
as a tool for business and the technologically literate, would remove privacy
concerns. However, if individuals increasingly find it necessary to provide
digital signatures for mainstream transactions, and to participate effectively
in cyberspace, it is likely that they will be forced to establish their
identities with one or more certification authorities in order to do so.
-
- More Powers for Spooks
-
- Surveillance of citizens financial affairs is not just
the exclusive domain of the Australian Tax Office. The Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had its powers greatly expanded in the
lead up to the 2000 Olympic Games. Under the ASIO Legislation Amendment
Act, Australia's internal spy agency now has access to banking and tax
records and can obtain financial transactions data from the Australian
Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). AUSTRAC itself routinely
reports 'suspicious' transactions of $10,000 or more to law enforcement
authorities for further investigation.
-
- This dramatic "functional creep" in the role
of ASIO has seen the organisation take on some of the activities usually
in the domain of State and Federal police forces. ASIO has powers to open
citizens mail, intercept communications, place listening devices in peoples'
homes and offices, and tap phones. The Olympic Games provided the legislative
go ahead to obtain emergency warrants, plant tracking devices on people,
and hack into computers. ASIO also has authority to collect foreign intelligence
and can intercept articles delivered by private couriers and Australia
Post. ASIO is also authorised to crack and modify password control systems
and encryption programs in computers. This provides the opportunity for
the sabotage of web sites, email facilities, and internal communication
systems.
-
- In a submission to federal parliament about ASIO, the
Australian Civil Liberties Union warned:
-
-
- While a trust in the agencies of a democracy is appropriate,
history and the experience of other countries have established that rogue
intelligence-gathering agencies are uniquely placed to fabricate evidence,
blackmail officials and engage in individual espionage. Only an extra-agency
review of these powers can provide safeguards against the possibility of
ASIO abusing the powers for the government of the day, for the agency or
an agent's personal purposes.4
-
-
- Also in the lead up to the Olympic Games, Australians
saw the passage of the Defence Legislation Aid to the Civil Power Act,
which gave wide ranging new powers to the military operating in civilian
situations. The military now have legal authority to seize buildings, places
and means of transport; detain people; search premises; seize possessions
and shoot to kill. Opponents of the bill argued for a sunset clause, but
were overruled by the majority in Canberra.
-
- Police State Measures
-
- As social conditions and standards of living decay, the
political establishment is increasingly turning to police state measures
to maintain control.
-
- Long-standing legal and democratic rights are being clawed
back while police are being handed far-reaching powers, designed specifically
for use against ordinary citizens. The sweeping increases to police powers
recently proposed by New South Wales Premier Bob Carr will repudiate one
of the traditional principles of the English-based legal system - that
an accused person is innocent until proven guilty.
-
- Under the guise of cracking down on drug related crime,
it will become an offence, punishable by up to five years' jail, to enter
or leave a dwelling identified by police as a "drug house". No
evidence has to be produced that illegal substances are on the premises,
or that anyone sold, handled or used them. Instead, those arrested will
be obliged to prove a negative - that neither they nor the building have
any association with drugs. Officers will be able to subject anyone arrested
under the legislation to a forced medical examination to detect traces
of illicit drugs, and people can be convicted regardless of whether or
not evidence of drugs is found. The penalties will be one year's jail for
a first offence and five years for a second offence.
-
- NSW Law Society president Nick Meagher described the
NSW legislation as "Nazi-style" because it "rips out the
basic legal tenet of innocence until proven guilty." NSW Council for
Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy commented: "The criminal
justice system in Australia was built on principles designed, above all
else, to protect the innocent. These principles are now being eroded and
the rights and liberties of ordinary citizens are being removed."
-
- Extra police powers are often justified by the perception
created by governments, the police, the judiciary and the media that society
is under siege by crime, and everyday life proceeds under a cloud of fear.
The revolution in information technology means that almost anyone, regardless
of whether they are literate or not, can be alerted to the 'crisis of crime'
via television, radio, newspapers or the Internet. Many Australians are
now virtual prisoners in their own homes. Paralysed by fear of criminal
activity, they are apprehensive about venturing out alone in their cars,
or on public transport - let alone on foot. Instead, they are voluntarily
detained and have become prisoners in their own homes: barricaded by iron
grills, security screens, deadlocks, motion detecting lights, alarms, padlocks,
dogs and high fences. The rising popularity of 'gated communities' is a
testament to these fears. Designed to keep out the 'riff raff', gated communities
are completely enclosed by perimeter security fencing and accessible only
by swipe card. In some instances, a staffed 'check point' marks the entry.
Inside, security officers are 'on patrol' and surveillance cameras roll.
Despite paranoia about crime, figures compiled by the Australian Bureau
of Statistics reveal that between 1993 and 1998 there was no statistically
significant increase in the main crime categories - household break-ins,
attempted break-ins, motor vehicle theft and sexual assault.
-
- Federal and State election campaigns now typically involve
a joust between political parties trying to outbid each other in areas
such as boosting police numbers, enhancing police powers and requiring
the judiciary to deliver harsher sentences. These campaigns divert attention
from the relentless cuts to education, health and public services that
have left many Australians with little or no forms of social support -
the real cause of much petty crime. The resulting despair and destitution
is blamed on the individuals who suffer the consequences of official policy.
-
- Today, police work is regularly augmented by 'community
policing', to 'prevent crime' and create a 'safer' environment. Community
Consultative Committees have been established in many areas of New South
Wales, with committees made up of the local Patrol Commander and people
interested in becoming - as critics have described it - 'keystone cops'.
-
- The NSW Community Policing initiative urges: "Community
Based Policing relies on your input into police work. Without your participation
in solving the problems being faced by your community the police will not
be able to address your concerns."
-
- Australians are becoming a nation of tittle tats through
policing 'initiatives' such as Neighbourhood Watch, Rural Watch and Business
Watch. The nightly news urges bored sticky beaks to phone 'dobber' hotlines
including Operation Noah for drugs and Operation Hot Wheels for car theft.
Crime Stoppers, an international network headquartered in the United States
asks citizens to "ring in if you have information about any crime
or any suspicious activities or if you think you have useful information
that may help prevent a crime." From July 1999 to June 2000, Crime
Stoppers received 128,185 phone calls, resulting in 2,187 arrests and 13,078
charges. Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for certain information.
-
- In line with increased policing, Australia's prison population
has risen dramatically over the past two decades.5 The Australian Institute
of Criminology (AIC), a government-funded research organisation, recently
reported that the number of inmates rose by 102 percent in the 17 years
from 1982 to 1998. Its study, "Imprisonment in Australia: Trends in
Prison Populations and Imprisonment Rates", found that, on average,
the prison population rose by 4.2 percent per year, two-and-a-half times
the increase in the imprisonable population (18 years and over). This rate
is over 30 percent higher than Britain's at 94 per 100,000 and almost seven
times higher than Indonesia with 22 per 100,000. The annual growth rate
in prison numbers is twice that of England and Wales, although only half
that of the United States.
-
- The AIC identified some of the interrelated factors contributing
to the rising prison population as: policies favouring imprisonment for
offences that could otherwise be sanctioned with less severe forms of punishment;
policies that impose tougher sanctions on convicted criminals, such as
longer terms of imprisonment; prisoners spending longer portions of their
sentences in prison due to reduced use by executive authorities of parole
and other early release mechanisms; an augmented flow of individuals being
processed by police due to legislative changes that create new offences
or increase the seriousness of unlawful behaviours already defined as offences.
-
- The soaring incarceration rate points to a society that
has no solutions for growing social inequality or the resulting human problems.
The official answer is to demonise, criminalise and punish the victims.
At the same time, the erection of an ever-greater police and prison apparatus
reveals a fear of growing social tensions and an attempt to intimidate
and suppress the inevitable development of popular unrest.
-
- At a local government level, the focus on 'crime' continues
through Council by-laws enacted in the interests of the 'common good'.
Most of these laws are designed to do little more than generate revenue
via fines for petty offences. Some local government authorities, for example
Lithgow City Council, have Council Rangers which patrol and issue on-the-spot
fines for breaches of relevant legislation such as littering a public place;
skateboards, scooters and bicycles in the main street areas; unregistered
animals and pollution of waters, which includes washing cars in the street.
In Queensland, Caloundra City Council has banned people from wearing political
slogans on t-shirts eg. Vote 1, Joe Bloggs. Maroochy Shire banned recycling
of grey-water onto gardens. People found carrying a water pistol, playing
cricket or kicking the footy in Melbourne's zoological gardens can be fined
$50.00. There are laws covering when you can and cannot switch on air conditioners,
swimming pool pumps and vacuum cleaners. Boroonda Council cites health
reasons for demanding a permit for keeping more than eight guinea pigs.
Stonnington Council has kept a by-law urging swimmers not to wear 'unclean'
or 'unsuitable' bathing costumes in its pools - offenders can be fined
$100.00. In the same shire, homeowners caught with a shopping trolley outside
their homes stand to lose $200.00.
-
- In his article "Media Freedom verses the Nanny State",
Professor McKenzie Wark6 notes:
-
-
- Sometimes it seems as though living in contemporary society
means nothing but being beset by dangers. When citizens are persuaded that
they are hopelessly at risk, then all too often the next step is to propose
the enhancement of the powers of government to make life safe. This gives
rise to what I would call the therapeutic state governments that restrict
the liberty of their citizens in the name of their own good are therapeutic
states.
-
-
- Censorship
-
-
- Ten years ago, at the end of her seven-year tenure as
chief film censor, Janet Strickland told the Herald we were entering a
period of social conservatism and predicted that by the mid-1990s the climate
of censorship would be stronger than it had been for three decades.
-
- 'It's undoubtedly so,' Strickland says today. 'I think
that's exactly what has happened. And it's speeding up. It's going to get
worse. God knows what kind of society we'll be living in 10 years' time.
It could be like Victorian times again, with all the hypocrisy and double
standards.' - Sydney Morning Herald, 6 July 1996
-
-
- Nowhere is the therapeutic state more evident than in
the area of censorship, where the Australian government has a long history
of intervention. Unlike the United States, Australia has no First Amendment,
nor any similar guarantee of free expression. Contrary to popular belief
in some circles, Australians have no right to freedom of expression under
the Australian Constitution.7
-
- Australia's system of 'classification' for books, films,
videos, magazines and television programs is a censorship system in that
information 'refused classification' is banned, or sections/scenes are
cut in order to obtain a classification. It is a criminal offence to sell
or exhibit films, videos and computer games unless they have been pre-rated
by the government Office of Film and Literature Classification. In order
to obtain a rating, a fee must be paid.
-
- The Internet is now seen as a media source in its own
right, an alternative to television and newspapers, providing independent
information. The Federal Government's Internet Censorship Act, or known
by its correct title, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services)
Act, is ostensibly a means of preventing access by minors to violent and
pornographic material. However, the Act's preamble is much broader. It
states that the legislation aims "to restrict access to certain Internet
content that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult."
-
- Severely criticised by Internet Service Providers (ISPs),
telecommunication experts and civil liberty groups, the Act provides for
complaints about Internet content to be referred to the Australian Broadcasting
Authority (ABA), which will investigate and act against ISPs hosting "offensive
content". ISPs will be directed to remove any banned content they
host. If they fail to do so, or fail to take "reasonable steps"
to filter out such content hosted abroad, they can be fined $27,000 per
day.
-
- So far, the ABA has issued a number of takedown notices
to sites hosted in Australia. At present, the ABA is not accountable to
the Australian public for its administration of the Act. The ABA's attitude
of total secrecy about details of its decisions has no parallel in the
administration of censorship policy of other media.
-
- An Internet censorship bill was introduced into South
Australian (SA) Parliament on 8 November 2000 which, among other things,
criminalises making available online "matter unsuitable for minors",
even if the content is only made available to adults. The South Australian
Government is believed to be the first of the State/Territory governments
to act on the Federal Government's request that they enact complementary
censorship legislation.
-
- The SA legislation dramatically broadens the scope of
government regulation and intimidation. According to Electronic Frontiers
Australia, the Bill makes it a criminal offence to make information available
to adults about "adult themes" including "suicide, crime,
corruption, marital problems, emotional trauma, drug and alcohol dependency,
death and serious illness, racism, religious issues", except in a
"discreet" manner, that is, "with little or no detail and
generally brief."8 If you place such material on a web page, even
on a password protected section of the site with the password only given
to adults, you could be prosecuted under criminal law.
-
- Several poignant examples of censorship - in the form
of 'book burning' - have occurred recently. In 1999, censorship laws allowed
authorities to seize material from Polyester Books in Melbourne. The bookstore
stocks New Dawn magazine along with a broad range of alternative and underground
magazines, books and videos. Police, customs officers and Office of Film
and Literature Classification officials seized more than $3000 worth of
books and videos from Polyester. The search warrant used for the raid referred
to parts of the Victorian classification laws dealing with unclassified,
X-rated and refused classification films and publications, with a maximum
penalty of 10 years in jail or a $120,000 fine. Australian customs have
seized vast amounts of material imported by Polyester owner Paul Elliot
- costing him thousands of dollars - but this was the first police raid
in the store's 12 years of operation.
-
- In January this year, South Australian police raided
the Folio Foilage bookshop and seized Pictures, a book by the internationally
renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The police had been tipped off
by an anonymous telephone call to Crime Stoppers claiming that the shop
was selling a book containing child pornography. Unable to find the alleged
book, the officers looked around the shop and decided to impound Mapplethorpe's
Pictures. Mapplethorpe's photographs are freely available in Australian
bookstores and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra has more than
40 of his photographs. Police forwarded the book to the Office of Literature
and Film Classification, which later resolved that it could be sold without
restrictions. The police decision to seize the Mapplethorpe book and take
upon themselves the role of moral guardians is an ominous development.
-
- Internet censorship legislation is directly responsible
for the filtering of David Icke's web site from Victoria's State Public
Library computer system. David Icke is an international personality who
speaks out on the history and activities of the global elites. Such legislation
underhandedly encourages censorship, even reaching places where freedom
of thought was once highly valued. In response to Internet censorship laws,
a number of Australian universities have introduced wide ranging filtering
of Internet access, justifying their measures by reference to the new laws.
-
- The proposed Victorian racial vilification bill, announced
recently by Premier Steve Bracks, has been attacked by civil libertarians
as another draconian form of state censorship. The Victorian legislation
proposes criminal sanctions for racial and religious vilification and for
inciting violence against minority groups.
-
- While criminal sanctions may be appropriate for such
repugnant and obnoxious acts, the broad ranging nature of the legislation
allows for prosecution of virtually anything, including name-calling, verbal
or written statements, gestures, the wearing of symbols or uniforms, or
anything else which a "reasonable observer" could interpret as
an offense to a "racial or religious group."
-
- The legislation potentially covers statements made or
activities in private homes. The burden of proof will be on the accused,
to prove that he or she was innocent. Accusations of 'hate speech' could
be made by a "third party," not even the person who was "offended."
Actions that may be deemed racially or religiously intolerant under the
draft Religious and Racial Tolerance Legislation include: communications
such as verbal or written comments; wearing of symbols or uniforms; gestures
or sounds and 'conduct generally'. The proposed legislation may also cover
communications that occur in any place where it would be reasonable to
expect them to be overheard or seen (for example, the conversation of two
people at a café).
-
- Lack of Political Debate
-
- A complete lack of political debate on issues of substance
has engulfed Australia. Discussions on censorship, big brother and expanding
police powers, once would - at the very least - have been hotly debated
on current affairs television programs. Today, these issues remain the
domain of a dwindling number of civil libertarians, privacy experts and
a handful of academics and political activists. Laws are enacted with virtually
no opposition. Those who do voice concern are marginalised and ridiculed
as 'extremists' - of the left or right wing. The voices of dissent are
virtually beaten into submission by the thesis that creeping totalitarianism
provides a 'fair go' for all and that opposition to the 'government's mandate'
is narrow minded, rebellious and reactionary.
-
- An article in the May-June 2001 edition of the House
of Representatives Bulletin, About the House, laments the days when "the
copy was good", confirming the lack of political debate in our country.
One hundred years ago, newspapers meticulously detailed the debates that
occurred in the colonial parliaments, acting almost as an unofficial Hansard,
transcribing and publishing parliamentary speeches in their pages, as well
as providing commentary and editorial. As recently as 30 years ago, major
city newspapers still regarded themselves as papers of record, covering
all important events, including what happened in the House of Representatives
and the Senate. Major newspaper chains employed teams of journalists who
flew into Canberra to cover every sitting period. Today, a sensation-obsessed
media thrives on the gladiatorial nature of question time. According to
one of Australia's senior political journalists, Laurie Oaks, "these
days, you know what's going to happen before it happens everyone follows
the script that's been written by the executive government. Things are
stage managed to the point of boredom and almost irrelevance." Political
journalists generally attend only question time. Outside that one hour
in the sitting day, their papers rely on one source from the parliamentary
chamber, the wire service, Australian Associated Press. Even Oakes says
that reliance on AAP is dangerous!
-
- The real threat to freedom in Australia is now arising
from incremental erosions of civil liberties. The rate of such erosion
is speeding up and is rapidly being fuelled by the pace of technological
innovation. For the large part, people seem to be mesmerised by the bread
and circuses dished up by the nanny state. Appealing to false memories
of a virtuous rural past, the Federal Government funds silly, pandering,
childish celebrations to keep the masses entertained. Millions of dollars
are doled out for schemes to 'develop' youth, the arts, sports and 'the
rural revival'.
-
- For citizens concerned about their future freedom and
survival, the only answer is to psychologically disconnect from the system.
As Hakim Bey succinctly puts it in his book Millennium, we must either
become totally absorbed or realise that we are in total opposition. The
system cannot be reformed, or saved from itself with independent political
representatives, a new government in Canberra or letters to politicians.
-
- At all levels of government, a plethora of legislation
has been passed and now merely lies waiting on the horizon for a suitable
opportunity to be activated in the fullest degree. As fireworks and gas
filled balloons are released for the Centenary of Federation, it's time
to realise that a modern police state is being unleashed.
-
- Footnotes:
-
- 1. More than $9.2 million worth of taxpayers money was
wasted on the Centenary of Federation Celebrations. The Centenary of Federation
authority says: "When the historic year is over, all Australians will
be able to say 'I was there and helped commemorate this proud and memorable
anniversary.'" The Centenary patron is Coles-Myer, a transnational
corporation.
-
- 2. Dumbing down occurs through public educational systems
which have been ransacked of their funds, resulting in poor curriculums
and students less capable of thinking critically.
-
- 3. For recent media reports on the routine surveillance
of daily activities, see Robert O'Harrow's article in the Washington Post,
"Night and Day, Computers", http://www.washingtech.com, and Garry
Barker's "You Are Being Watched", published in The Age, 2 June,
http://www.theage.com.au
-
- 4. Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on
the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
-
- 5. This reflects trends in most developed countries throughout
the world.
-
- 6. Published in The Australian, 17 March 1997. Available
at http://www.libertus.net/censor/odocs/mw970317.html
-
- 7. http://libertus.net/censor/fspeechlaw.html
-
- 8. http://www.efa.org.au
-
-
- Susan Bryce is an Australian journalist and publisher
of the newsletter Australian Freedom & Survival Guide. Her interests
include global politics, big brother and the New World Order. Australian
Freedom & Survival Guide airs the dirty laundry of big brother, big
business and big government, exposing the realities and personalities behind
globalisation, genetic engineering, the international surveillance regime,
corporate power and military research. AF&SG is available by subscription
only. Six issues for $45.00 per year. Sample issue $7.50. Send cheque or
money order payable to S.Bryce PO Box 66 Kenilworth Qld 4574 Australia.
Email: sbryce@squirrel.com.au
-
- The above article appeared in New Dawn No.67 (July-August
2001)
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