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Australian government surpasses US when it comes to spying on its own citizens

published by Tom Sullivan on Mon, 2012-10-01 09:06

Australian security and law enforcement agencies are world leaders in telecommunications interception and data access and like most successful industries, they want more. Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon is canvassing a further expansion of surveillance powers, most controversially a requirement that telecommunications and internet service providers retain at least two years of data for access by government agencies.

Security and privacy are in the balance as the Federal Parliament's secretive joint committee on intelligence and security considers Australia's future digital surveillance regime.

Australia was slow to get into the business of telecommunications interception. Alexander Graham Bell's invention was nearly 70 years old before Australian security authorities took advantage of the telephone as a surveillance device. But since then they've never looked back.

Source and full story: Sydney Morning Herald, 25 Sept 2012

Tags: 
AUSTRALIA
PRIVACY
CENSORSHIP

Comments

Submitted by Heydrich on Mon, 2012-10-01 10:38.

Australia was slow to get into the business of telecommunications interception. Alexander Graham Bell's invention was nearly 70 years old before Australian security authorities took advantage of the telephone as a surveillance device. But since then they've never looked back.

Really? The National Security Agency has operated very closely with the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and England in electronic spying on citizens since the ECHELON system was established in the early 1960s, and probably before (e.g. during the world wars).  

Spying on citizens is one thing. Another aspect (which I have long suspected, but could never prove) is that bankers, speculators, and corporate lords use their respective nations’ intelligence agencies to spy on each other, and get inside stock tips, or get information that may help a corporate lord crush a competitor (i.e. corporate espionage).

Since nations run on money, and since bankers control the money, it is reasonable to presume that bankers use the NSA, for example, to maintain their power.

One thing is certain. As the bankers, the politicians, and the corporate lords continually increase their war on mankind, they must continually increase their surveillance in order to maintain their power over the starving masses.

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