Australian Government Rejects Data Retention Law After Report 153
mask.of.sanity writes "The Australian Government has shelved its plans to proactively store communications data of every citizen ostensibly to assist with law enforcement and intelligence efforts. The shelving (video) comes after a scathing report by Australian parliamentarians who investigated the Government's plans, and three months ahead of a federal election in which the Government is expected to lose office."
Re:hmm (Score:2, Informative)
contained rigorous privacy controls and oversight
That doesn't sound like the American system at all.
Remember (Score:2, Informative)
When the current opposition party was Government they took Australia into Vietnam and Iraq and copied the 'war on terror' mantra. While no Australian politician can be anti-American, the current opposition party are arse-lickers of American politicians.
Re:The current government is doomed. (Score:4, Informative)
I work as an election official on election day. Posting as an AC to protect anonymity.
Legally, you are incorrect. Under the Electoral Act, it is your duty to vote, and an offence not to. Practically, of course, you are correct. Because voting is secret, nobody can tell if you voted... unless you admit it on Slashdot.
What I wanted to say is that I have one request, and one request only, on behalf of election officials everywhere: Please take the ballot papers that have been issued to you and put them in the ballot box. Fill them out or don't. Write a slogan on them. I don't care, do anything you want... just put them into the ballot box in one piece.
There have been some very close elections around the world recently, including Australia. What makes Australia different is that there has been no question of electoral fraud.
We don't often stop to consider just how remarkable this is. Look at the mess of the 2000 presidential elections in the US, or the previous elections resulting in a hung parliament in the UK, or Italy (just Italy; I don't think I need to expand on that). We may not know how to run a country, but we know how to run an election. We do it bloody well, and this is something you can be proud of.
One of the tenets of security is that you analyse known threats and look for patterns, and one of the mechanisms that is commonly used to rig elections around the world is to selectively remove ballot papers from being considered in the count. There are various methods to do this, from stealing and destroying them, to changing the rules of formality post facto (hanging chads, anyone?).
It's an unbelievably huge deal if ballot papers go missing. Removing ballot papers from the polling centre does not send any message to your politicians, nor does it help change the system. All it does is causes a major headache for already-exhausted casual employees. (Don't forget, we've been at the polling centre since an hour before it opened, and have to stay there until counting finishes. It's a very long day.)
Whatever you think about compulsory voting, or the state of the political system and the major parties, it is not the fault of the Australian Electoral Commission or their casual staff. So... yeah, please put the damn papers in the damn box.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Your friendly election official