I honestly havn't figured out why these issues get such unanimous support by the political class.
I think its because too few Australians care enough for this to matter to politicians and the parties, who respond to incentives like everyone else.
This doesn't absolve pollies of responsibility for passing these draconian measures, but it is an important fact to acknowledge if we want to successfully change the culture around security issues in Australia.
Picking on end-to-end encryption; if my messages are insecure then the messages of the politicians are also insecure. They have a lot more to hide than I do.
It isn't obvious to me why they think the incentives align for making Australians less secure. If nobody cares, why not write laws that protect everyone including politicians?
The Liberals literally called the Federal Police down on the AWU and notified the press before the raid. For those who aren't Australian the AWU is a union that is basically part of the Labor party organising body. Are federal politicians really so stupid as to think this stuff isn't going to be used against them at some point? Police enforcement actions are clearly entering the world of the political federally and probably in Victoria. There is a lot of talk about ICAC. China is breathing down our necks to gain more access to our computer networks, our University networks were hacked just the other week. This is not hypothetical stuff for our politicians; these are all actions targeting people like them.
I can all but guarantee that there is a technician at any Australian digital-communication company who can be bribed by a foreign actor to hand over all communication a given politician has made on that service.
"Are federal politicians really so stupid as to think this stuff isn't going to be used against them at some point?"
Yes. They are. "Stupid" is often a straight-talking way to say they are "lacking sufficient wisdom to fully understand the implications."
Some people really do need to learn by getting burnt. Others need multiple burns before they think it is serious. There are people who need to be on fire before they will agree that being burnt is a possibility.
Comments
I think its because too few Australians care enough for this to matter to politicians and the parties, who respond to incentives like everyone else.
This doesn't absolve pollies of responsibility for passing these draconian measures, but it is an important fact to acknowledge if we want to successfully change the culture around security issues in Australia.
Picking on end-to-end encryption; if my messages are insecure then the messages of the politicians are also insecure. They have a lot more to hide than I do.
It isn't obvious to me why they think the incentives align for making Australians less secure. If nobody cares, why not write laws that protect everyone including politicians?
The Liberals literally called the Federal Police down on the AWU and notified the press before the raid. For those who aren't Australian the AWU is a union that is basically part of the Labor party organising body. Are federal politicians really so stupid as to think this stuff isn't going to be used against them at some point? Police enforcement actions are clearly entering the world of the political federally and probably in Victoria. There is a lot of talk about ICAC. China is breathing down our necks to gain more access to our computer networks, our University networks were hacked just the other week. This is not hypothetical stuff for our politicians; these are all actions targeting people like them.
I can all but guarantee that there is a technician at any Australian digital-communication company who can be bribed by a foreign actor to hand over all communication a given politician has made on that service.
"Are federal politicians really so stupid as to think this stuff isn't going to be used against them at some point?"
Yes. They are. "Stupid" is often a straight-talking way to say they are "lacking sufficient wisdom to fully understand the implications."
Some people really do need to learn by getting burnt. Others need multiple burns before they think it is serious. There are people who need to be on fire before they will agree that being burnt is a possibility.