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[Loud Whispers]

The icing on the cake is that he got ousted 4 days before his two-year anniversary, so the articles can truthfully say "after less than two years".

Would've been better if it was 4 days later so they could say "after exactly two years"

Also was Abbo the one who wanted to drill the reef?

[Reelya]

Thought I'd open this up for debate/discussion since it came up in another thread, we really need to let people here know about it.

Today, new metadata laws for Australian ISPs came into effect. But 84% of ISPs do not actually have the infrastructure to collect said metadata. My bet is that they're being deliberately slow in implementing it. There are no profits to be had in humouring the government, but there are potential losses to be incurred for being overzealous in spying on your customers. ISPs can be breached for not collecting this "metadata" by today. But they can ask for an extension, which gives them another 18 months to comply with the laws. Here's a worry however, 2/3 ISPs say they're not sure exactly what this "metadata" is that they're supposed to be collecting. If ISPs can't even work out what this is about, then there's little hope for the rest of us to figure out what our rights are. Also , the costs of compliance actually look like they're going to put several smaller regional ISPs out of business. Some are already reducing services because they're no longer breaking even due to the new laws.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-13/majority-of-isps-not-ready-to-start-collecting-metadata/684737


Well, so what's this metadata then?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/what-is-metadata-how-will-it-be-defined-by-new-australia-laws/6325908

This bullet-point list is the best breakdown of exactly what the metadata does and does not cover:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What's not included?

    Web browsing history.
    The body or text of SMS messages.
    The body and subject lines of emails.
    Files attached to emails including photos or documents.
    The audio of phone conversations.
    The audio recordings of online or social media chats.
    Continuous location tracking via mobile devices.

What will be kept for a minimum of two years?
Phone calls

    Incoming caller identification.
    Outgoing caller identification.
    The time, date and duration of the phone call.
    The location of the device at the beginning and the end of the phone call.
    The unique identifier number assigned to a particular mobile phone device.
    The status of a mobile device, for example, if it is lost, stolen or on roaming.
    Information about what features were used on any particular call such as call waiting or call forwarding.

Internet (if these services are provided by an Australian operator)

    Email address.
    The time, date, size and recipients of emails.
    The file type and size of any attachments sent or received with emails.
    Online chat time, date and the identity of those on the chat.
    Details about internet usage including how much bandwidth the internet service provides.
    How many uploads/downloads made and the size of each one.
    Details about what technology enabled each communication i.e. ADSL, wifi, cable internet.
    Account details held by the ISP or telco provider; including when the account was activated or suspended.

One of the biggest risks here isn't even government snooping. The new system will put everyone in Australia's metadata into a single database. That's one single point of failure. What if a hacker gains access to that data collection? They've now got metadata for everyone in the country.

[Reelya]

(From the happy thread. to keep my non-happy reply out of that)

Doctors at the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital have taken a stand against the Federal Government and are refusing to return asylum seeker children to immigration detention, stating it would be highly unethical.

This sorta stuff gives me hope after all.
Put it this way, there's children in those prisons getting raped or other nasty shit, and the doctors are essentially risking jail by refusing to return them.

There's gonna be some really big change in this country soon.

On that topic, Tony Abbott announced accepting more refugees on September 9th, that was the first time he ever said anything positive about humanitarian aid in his whole career. By September 14th, he was ousted as leader. Coincidental timing? Or a last-gasp clutching at power through appealing to populism? The guy used refugee-hate to get into power, and switched to refugee-love at the last minute to cling to power.

He just "used refugees" in general then and probably couldn't actually give two fucks about refugees either way. That's the bit that makes it the most sickening. It's like Hitler trying to save himself at the last minute going "you know what, some of my best friends are Jewish!"

Someone who'll stick men, women and children in concentration camps purely to get votes is a scary motherfucker indeed.

[Jimmy]

...

Today, new metadata laws for Australian ISPs came into effect.

...

Yeah, that about puts the last nail in the coffin of my reluctance to finally commit to a VPN. Any good suggestions for the Australian market?

[TheBiggerFish]

I...I can't even...How...What the flying skeletal carp, Australia guvmint.  This is not how to spy on people effectively.

[martinuzz]

The high court of Papua New Guinea ruled that the refugee detention center paid for by Australia is illegal, and will have to close down, Papua New Guinea's prime minister O'Neil announced today.
He has asked the Australian government to quickly come up with a plan to relocate the 900-ish refugees, all male, which are currently held on the island of Manus.

Australia pays Papua New Guinea for the detention of refugees which are caught on open sea, before reaching Australia. A controversial Australian law decrees that no refugee that tries to reach Australia by sea is allowed to enter the country, ans should instead be brought to detention centers at Manus and Nauru, and they will never be allowed to apply for legal status in Australia.

O'Neill says that any refugee that has fled for political reasons is welcome to apply for asylum in Papua New Guinea. Yet, most of the 900 detainees want to go to Australia instead.
"It is very clear that a number of them does not want to stay in Papua New Guinea", says O'Neill.

Both countries need to find a solution quickly, now that judges have ruled that refugee's rights have been violated, and the camp has to be dismantled.

The Australian minister of immigration Peter Dutton has already replied, stating that none of those refugees are allowed to come to Australia. He also turned down requests from human rights organisations to transfer them to Australia.

The High Court ruled after a serious incident in the refugee center. An Iranian refugee set fire to himself in protest against Australia's strict immigration policy.
Australian minister Peter Dutton says the man will be flown to Australia to recieve medical treatment. "His condition is very serious", he said.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/omstreden-australisch-azc-op-papoea-nieuw-guinea-moet-dicht~a4290367/

[Reelya]

I wouldn't want to resettle in Papua New Guinea either. It's an incredibly poor country with almost no infrastructure.
https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17301

Port Moresby ranks 137 of 140 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s livability index, with a score that indicates that “most aspects of living are severely restricted.” There is high unemployment, and up to half the population reportedly lives in squatter settlements.

And that's in the capital, which is the well-developed area.

It will be interesting how the Australian government deals with this. We have a federal election coming up, this is probably the last thing that the incumbent government wants to have to deal with right now. Sadly, the Labor party here also supports the off-shore camps.

[Loud Whispers]

Good if you've got a boat

[Reudh]

I expect that Dutton just wants to jam the Manus Island refugees into whatever next camp has space; probably Nauru or one of the many on-shore ones we have.

[martinuzz]

The Australian government is planning to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes to 45 dollars (29 euros) in 2020.
I guess growing tobacco illegally will become more profitable than making crystal meth then.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/may/03/smokers-to-pay-more-than-45-for-a-packet-of-cigarettes-from-2020

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Impoverishing addicts is how you discourage addiction, it worked great over here in America.

Kappa

[Sheb]

It actually works nicely in the case of cigarettes, at least when the rise is suddent (you need to send a signal for people to stop).

[Reelya]

Well, smugglers and such will price-point below that, so it could be argued the black market will flourish. Although the black market price will still be above current market prices (if it wasn't then we'd already have a huge black market now).

What's more significant is that there are alternatives to cigarettes which will become enticingly cheaper: e.g. nicotine patches.

[Helgoland]

(you need to send a signal for people to stop)

Why?

You should make neutral info freely availible, and counter the tobacco industry's propaganda, but why should the government have a mission to keep people from smoking? Just make 'em pay for the additional strain they put on the healthcare system, and tell them to go kill themelves slowly if they really want to.

[Reelya]

He meant this type of signaling:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_signal
Not public "don't smoke" messages.