Australian Politics
Judge knocks out arrogant Australian bureaucrat
She thought she could dictate to the world. Out with Inman!
Australia’s eSafety commissioner’s attempt to force Elon Musk’s X to entirely remove a stabbing video from its platform worldwide was not reasonable, the Federal Court has ruled.
On Monday, a temporary order by Julie Inman Grant to block Australians from viewing footage of the alleged terrorist stabbing attack of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was refused in a win for tech giant X.
Ms Inman Grant ordered X (formerly Twitter) to remove access to the video for Australian users last month, slapping the footage with a Class 1 classification, reserved for high-impact violent or child sex abuse material.
While X complied with a take-down notice, “geo-blocking” the content, Australian users with VPNs could still watch the attack on the platform and the tech company has refused to totally remove the footage from its platform.
Federal Court judge Geoffrey Kennett released his reasons for refusing the temporary order on Tuesday, finding X Corp succeeded in its argument that removing the footage for all users globally was not a “reasonable” step it should take in order to comply with the eSafety take down notice.
“The argument that making the 65 URLs inaccessible to all users of X Corp’s platform everywhere in the world is not a step that it is ‘reasonable’ to require X Corp to perform in order to ensure that the URLs are inaccessible to Australian users (and therefore is not a step required by the removal notice) is powerful,” justice Kennett said.
“If given the reach contended for by the Commissioner, the removal notice would govern (and subject to punitive consequences under Australian law) the activities of a foreign corporation in the United States (where X Corp’s corporate decision-making occurs) and every country where its servers are located,” he said.
“The Commissioner, exercising her power under s 109, would be deciding what users of social media services throughout the world were allowed to see on those services.”
As well, if the edict — that X should take down the content globally — was ordered, it’s likely that it would not be taken seriously.
“The potential consequences for orderly and amicable relations between nations, if a notice with the breadth contended for were enforced, are obvious,” justice Kennett said. “Most likely, the notice would be ignored or disparaged in other countries.
“The result is that … the “reasonable steps” required by a removal notice issued under s 109 do not include the steps which the Commissioner seeks to compel X Corp to take in the present case.
“For these reasons I have come to the view, based on the arguments advanced at this interlocutory stage, that the Commissioner will not succeed in establishing that compliance with the removal notice entails blocking access to the 65 URLs by all users of X Corp.”
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‘We Ceased Being a Democracy’: Former PM Calls for COVID-19 Royal Commission
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has raised fears Australia could be placed under lockdown again if a full Royal Commission investigation into the pandemic response is not held.
Mr. Abbott, who served in the top job from 2013 to 2015, said Australia stopped being a democracy for a couple of years during the pandemic.
The former Liberal Party leader spoke to his former Chief of Staff Peta Credlin following the release of a submission from the former Liberal Health Minister Greg Hunt to the current government’s COVID-19 inquiry.
Then presiding federal health minister during the pandemic questioned the measures implemented by state and territory leaders at the time, who rolled out vaccine mandates, lockdowns, and domestic border closures
Mr. Abbott told Sky News Australia said the cure was worse than the disease.
“The policy to deal with COVID turned out to be far worse than the disease itself. And when you go back and look at this honestly and dispassionately, you'd have to say that the first mistake that governments made was throwing out the carefully prepared pandemic plans that we all had in panic in early March 2020 because of the dire photos coming out of overwhelmed Italian hospitals,” Mr. Abbott said.
“But I think that had a lot more to do with the Italian hospital system than it did with the severity of the disease itself.”
Mr. Abbott also echoed calls from several Australian senators for a Royal Commission, raising fears the country could experience lockdowns again.
“My fear is that without a fair dinkum Royal Commission-type inquiry into the whole response to COVID, next time a pandemic happens, and it will, we will take the over-the-top response to this one as the model for all future actions.” Mr. Abbott said.
“But the last thing we'd want to be is locked up for several years, again, in response to a disease that turned out to be relatively mild.”
While he supported the medical advice, Mr. Abbott felt this should not come at the expense of Australia’s democracy.
“I’m confident that inside the Coalition a lot of these issues would have been more debated than they seemed on the surface, but there’s no doubt for a period of time we ceased being a democracy and became a kind of a ‘doc-docracy,’” he said, in reference to the influence of doctors and medical experts on public policy.
“Now I am all in favour of taking expert advice seriously, but in the end, we’ve got to remain and open, transparent accountable democracy, and I am afraid we weren’t for a couple of years during the pandemic.”
Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan and One Nation Senators Malcolm Roberts and Pauline Hanson have pushed strongly for a COVID-19 Royal Commission, following news that the AstraZeneca vaccine was being withdrawn globally.
Despite calls for a Royal Commission, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese instead opted for a COVID-19 Response Inquiry to examine federal actions during the pandemic.
More than 2,000 submissions have been received so far, chaired by Robyn Kruk, as well as panel members Professor Catherine Bennett, and Dr. Angela Jackson.
Victoria’s Pandemic Restrictions Against Medical Advice: Hunt
Former Health Minister Hunt revealed in his submission that the then-Victorian government’s decision to restrict movement to five kilometre (3.1 miles) radius from home, and implement curfews went against medical advice.
Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews introduced these measures during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne.
However, Mr. Hunt said the curfews and restrictions were not subject to federal advice, or to the best of his knowledge, medical advice.
“National Cabinet developed a series of step-up and step-down distancing measures as part of the COVID Roadmap. This included nationally agreed restrictions on gatherings following medical advice,” Mr. Hunt said (pdf).
“Subsequent unilateral decisions of some states outside of the National Cabinet framework, such as Victoria’s curfews or five kilometre movement restrictions were not the subject of Commonwealth advice, and nor to the best of my knowledge has the medical advice for such restrictions been either released or affirmed at state level.”
In the future, Mr. Hunt recommended states commit “not to take unilateral decisions” against National Cabinet decisions unless there is published and signed medical advice to the contrary at the deputy chief health officer level or above.
He also suggested that a Memorandum of Understanding should be signed between the Commonwealth and states that commits to the continuous use of the National Cabinet for future pandemic management.
World’s Longest Locked Down City
During the pandemic, Melbourne became one of the world’s longest locked-down cities.
“The strengthened settings will see a curfew imposed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night. There will be increased police presence across metropolitan Melbourne to ensure public health measures are enforced,” the former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in August 2021.
“Exercise and shopping are still limited to five kilometres from your home. If there’s no shops in your five kilometre radius, you can travel to the ones closest to you. You are also able to travel more than five kilometres to get a vaccine if you need to.”
Mr. Andrews said at the time that the restrictions were hard work for every Victorian, but the rules were in place for a reason.
“Everyone wants this pandemic to be over, but the rules are in place for a reason—we know they work and if we follow them together, we’ll be able to lift them sooner,” he said at the time.
Economically the city and state continues to recover from the impact of lockdowns with 7,606 businesses de-registering from the state in 2022-23.
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Aussie farmers fear an industry could be wiped out by the stroke of a pen from the Albanese government
Farmers fear their livelihoods will be destroyed forever after the Anthony Albanese government announced live sheep exports will be phased out.
The federal government announcement on Saturday sent shockwaves across the sheep farming industry, which will be forced to abandon the $143million-a-year practice by May 2028.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the new legislation, which was one of Labor's election promises, would be enacted before voters return to the polls next year.
Despite committing to a $107m transition package, farmers and industry leaders have branded the decision as a 'punch in the guts'.
Many have hundreds of sheep they will have to 'destroy' because they have 'nowhere for them to go'.
Western Australian livestock farmer David Slade described the the shutdown of the industry as unjustified. 'It's destroyed the industry on a whim,' Western Australian livestock farmer David Slade told news.com.au. 'Everybody's really livid.'
The policy change came after several instances of video footage showing sheep that had died or were in distress due to overcrowding and excessive heat on board the ships.
But farmers and industry leaders claim that new standards mean the practice is now much safer for livestock and the ban is unwarranted. 'Our welfare standards are absolutely top notch,' Mr Slade said.
'It wasn't good before, there's no doubt about that. We own that. We've made sure that that doesn't happen again.'
Mr Slade branded a $64.6million package offered to help affected farmers to diversify into new areas as an insult.
Fellow West Australian farmer Ellen Walker branded the decision as a 'punch in the guts' following a dry summer and weak prices.
'I currently have over 200 sheep that I am going to have to destroy because there is nowhere for them to go,' she said.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the federal government failed to take into account the ripple effects of removing a 'key component' of the sheep industry.
'This industry is a fundamental market tool that enables farmers to manage livestock and uphold high standards of animal welfare through trying seasons, market failure and more,' Mr Martin said in a statement.
'And so without it, many farmers will have some major problems on their hands.'
He added that a reduction in sheep farming would also effect a demand on fodder and grain used to feed livestock.
Mr Martin said the transition package 'lightly touches' on supporting oversupply and processing but doesn't support the knock-on effect to the broader farming industry.
'There is insufficient detail about how broader agriculture and processing industries will be supported, and so we have serious questions as to what this will do to help the situation at all,' he said.
'Time and time again, this federal government has failed Australia's food and fibre producers – and now they are switching off markets for farmers, and food for hungry people.
'What's next, and can we continue to feed and clothe the nation if the decision-making keeps deteriorating?'
Mr Watt announced the legislation from Western Australia, where most live exports begin their journey to other nations.
'There are a number of other states in Australia that used to do live exports of sheep,' Senator Watt said. 'They got out of it – they moved into more onshore processing.'
The live export industry has seen yearly decreases since its peak in the early 2000s having supplied a large amount of sheep to the Middle East.
RSPCA Australia boss Richard Mussell firmly backed the government's decision.
'A swift and orderly phase-out of live sheep export, with appropriate measures to safeguard animal welfare in the meantime, is the right decision for Australian sheep and Australian farmers,' he said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13409191/Live-sheep-exports-wiped-albo.html
**********************************************Deakin University orders pro-Palestinian campers off campus
Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has called on all universities to “clear the camps of hate’’ from their campuses and praised Deakin University for ordering that the encampment protest on its campus be dismantled.
The university’s deputy vice-chancellor Kerrie Parker has warned the protesters that freedom of speech “does not extend to the establishment of unauthorised camps.’’
She sought the “immediate dismantling and removal of the current encampment at Morgans Walk’’ at the Burwood campus in Melbourne.
But defiant protesters insisted they “will not be complying’’ and are organising a rally on Wednesday to “defend and support the encampment’’.
A video filmed on Monday night shows protest organiser Jasmine Duff telling a group of protesters to rally to “defend’’ the camp on Wednesday.
In her email, Professor Parker said the university was committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
“Your ability to undertake protest, political discourse and debate on Deakin campuses is not being infringed or curtailed,’’ she wrote.
“However, the right to freedom of speech does not extend to the establishment of unauthorised camps which pose hygiene and safety risks and restrict the access, availability and use of Deakin premises and facilities for the benefit of the Deakin community of users.’’
Mr Frydenberg praised the university’s decision and called on others to follow its lead.
“Our universities must be safe spaces for learning and education, not indoctrination,’’ Mr Frydenberg told The Australian.
“All our universities should follow Deakin’s lead, bringing an end to these encampments and taking a strong and principled stand against the anti-Semitism, violence and hate we have seen across Australia in recent months.
“This is a time for our university leaders to stand up and be counted.”
Mr Frydenberg, a prominent member of the Jewish community, last week accused university leaders of being derelict in their duties in refusing to clear away the protest encampments. He was speaking ahead of the release this month on Sky News of his documentary Never Again: the Fight Against Anti-Semitism.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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